


Sandaime Hokage's Legacy

by Ruumi



Category: Naruto
Genre: BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, Dark, Gen, Prodigy Naruto, Red-Haired Uzumaki Naruto, Smart Uzumaki Naruto, Taught by Hiruzen Sarutobi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-07-31 13:18:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 66,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20115733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruumi/pseuds/Ruumi
Summary: Naruto in this story inherited his mother's red hair and his father's brains. He eventually gets Hiruzen to train him, albiet indirectly. Naruto grows in strength but he attracts attention from Danzo. He hails the boy as a prodigy and he deduces that Hiruzen is the one training Naruto. He goes to Hiruzen and offers him an ultimatum "Allow me to train Naruto and induct him into Root, or I'll tell the villager's of Naruto's parentage, which would send his fathers enemies after him." Sandaime is faced with a tough choice, both of them being unfavorable decisions...*ON A BRIEF HAITUS*





	1. Intro to Sandaime Hokage's Legacy

On the night of October 10th, Konohagakure was rocked to its core when the Kyuubi attacked and devastated Konoha and her people. After the Yondaime, Minato Namikaze fought Kyuubi and sealed the beast into his only son, he along with his wife perished. At the aftermath of this battle the Sandaime, Minato’s predecessor assessed the damages to the village. He heard the crying of a baby nearby, and he walked over to the son of the Yondaime, Naruto. When he saw Naruto who was laying on a ceremonial altar with candles surrounding him, he picked the young boy up. “Naruto…” he said sadly. Hiruzen smiled when he realized that Naruto had inherited his mother's hair color, but his hair shape was spiky like Minato’s. He’d also noticed the seal that was visible on the child’s belly. It was a swirl with eight seals surrounding it, four seals on opposite sides. “So they sealed the Kyuubi, within this boy with the Eight Trigram Sealing Style” Hiruzen realized. In front of where Naruto was laying, were the bodies of Naruto’s parents. Minato’s shirt was torn open and he had a swirl on his abdomen.

Hiruzen began to realize what had taken place here. “Minato used the Reaper Death Seal as well, probably to seal the remains of Kyuubi’s chakra that he couldn’t seal in Naruto.” he said aloud. He took Naruto back to the Hokage tower, so that both Naruto and he, could get a good night of sleep. The next day, Hiruzen sent Naruto to an orphanage. He regretted that he couldn’t take care of the boy himself, but he had to retake the mantle of Hokage. The same day Sandaime put into law that nobody was to inform Naruto of his heritage as the Yondaime’s son. He also made a law that forbid the older generation telling their children about the Kyuubi sealed inside of Naruto. He wanted for the boy to live a normal life. But Sandaime’s law seemed to not work as well as he thought it would. Over the next few years the villagers shunned Naruto. His peers didn’t know why they were doing it, they were following the influence of their parents, who had remembered how the Kyuubi had destroyed their village and killed their loved ones.

Naruto who was at the age of 6 now, was starting at the academy today. He didn’t have a lot of friends. He was friends with Teuchi and Ayame at Ichiraku Ramen, his favorite place to eat, and Sandaime, the old man was always nice to him. But he didn’t have any friends his own age. It was Naruto’s goal to make some friends his own age, and he’d made sure he dressed as well as he could. He’d showered, brushed his teeth and threw on his favorite outfit. His signature green goggles, a black shirt, with a red swirl in the middle, and white shorts. Naruto dashed out the doors of the orphanage and headed straight for the academy. When Naruto walked inside he scanned the room with excited eyes, he wanted to look for someone who seemed friendly. Naruto’s saw a girl with blonde hair and Naruto decided to go sit next to her. She was sitting on one of the higher seats, near a boy with a ponytail, and another boy with brown hair and swirls on his cheeks.

“Hello, I’m Naruto Uzumaki. What’s your name?” Naruto asked. “I’m Ino Yamanaka.” she said. “I’m Shikamaru Nara” Shikamaru said lazily, staring at the ceiling. “I’m Choji Akimichi” Choji said as well. “Can I sit next to you all?” Naruto asked. Ino scooted over and made some space for the young Naruto. “Sure, I don’t mind.” she said. Naruto smiled and took a seat. Iruka walked into the classroom and introduced himself. “I’m Iruka Umino, I’ll be you guy’s Sensei. I’m happy to meet you all.” Iruka smiled at the class. “The first lesson I’m here to teach you all about, is chakra. Does anyone know what chakra is?” Iruka asked. Sakura raised her hand “Chakra is the key to a ninja’s abilities. It’s created from both physical energy and mental energy.” she said. “That’s correct, chakra is used for ninjutsu and genjutsu. It’s what makes ninja so strong.” Iruka said and Naruto was very attentive to this lesson. The rest of the lesson had been on how to manipulate chakra using handseals and they were taught the handseals as well.

Naruto made a combination of handsigns for a jutsu he’d just thought of. “Naruto Style: Academy Escape Jutsu!” he said as nothing happened. “That’s not a real jutsu Naruto.” Ino chided. Naruto smiled and scratched his head bashfully. “Oh well.” I really want to get out of this place I have my meeting with the old man at Ichiraku Ramen after this.” Naruto said excitedly. “Old man?” Shikamaru asked. “You know… the Hokage.” Naruto said, like it was obvious. “You have a meeting with the Hokage?” Shikamaru asked, in disbelief. “Yeah, I do. We meet at Ichiraku Ramen a lot.” Naruto said truthfully. A couple of moments later the bell rang, and Naruto ran out of the building yelling “Bye Iruka Sensei, bye new friends!” Shikamaru, Ino and Choji shared a look “New friends?” they questioned. “Well I guess we’re stuck with him. He’s not that bad though.” Ino said as they watched him running.

In a couple of minutes Naruto arrived at Ichiraku’s and spotted Sandaime’s white and red robes. Naruto walked through and sat next to Sandaime. “How was your day Naruto?” he asked. “It was good Jii-san! I met some new friends, they didn’t look down on me like everyone else seems to. I like them. Iruka-sensei taught us about chakra today. I learned a lot about chakra and handseals. I tried to use a jutsu I made called Naruto Style: Academy Escape Jutsu! I was sad though because it didn’t work. I wanted to hurry and get here.” Naruto said. Hiruzen laughed deeply “Naruto, you don’t just use handsigns and make a jutsu like that. You have to put the right amount of chakra into things, and sometimes you have to use a certain type of chakra to make a jutsu happen.” he said. “Let’s order your ramen, and we can talk more about jutsu and your friends. Teuchi, Naruto and is ready to order.” he said. Teuchi looked at Naruto and smiled. “Ah, our best customer. What’ll you have today?” Teuchi asked.

“The usual.” Naruto replied. Teuchi looked over to Sandaime “Will you be having anything Lord Hokage?” he asked. “No I won’t. I’m getting older, unfortunately I have to watch my weight. It’s harder now because my wife Biwako isn’t here to chide me anymore.” Hiruzen said. “It’s good business for Hokage-sama to be here anyways. You don’t have to order anything.” Teuchi said. Hiruzen turned to Naruto. “Tell me about the friends you’ve made.” Hiruzen said. Naruto basically jumped in his seat “I made three friends. Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji. They were all pretty nice, well nicer than the villagers usually are. I sat next to them at the academy.” Naruto said. “I’m glad you’ve made friends.” Hiruzen smiled. Naruto began to drool as his big bowl of Miso Ramen was placed in front of him. “Eat up kid!” Teuchi said and before he could even finish his sentence Naruto was already slurping down his ramen. Hiruzen gave Naruto a look and the young Naruto ate the remaining ramen that was hanging out of his mouth. “Sorry Teuchi-san, I was a bit too hungry. Thank you for the food.” Naruto said. “No problem Naruto!” Teuchi replied. Naruto finished devouring his ramen and wiped his mouth once he finished.

“Jii-san, you should show me some of the jutsu that you know. You told me that just making handsigns won’t work so show me how it’s done.” Naruto said. Hiruzen smiled. “Naruto you’ve just started the academy, you don’t even know how to mold your chakra yet. Don’t be in such a rush.” Hiruzen lectured. Naruto raised his chopsticks at Hiruzen “Don’t underestimate me Jii-san, one day I’ll be a Hokage so great that I’ll surpass both you and Yondaime!” Naruto said, stating his dream. “He’s a lot like his father” Hiruzen thought as he smiled. “You want to surpass me and the Fourth Hokage? That’s a mighty goal you’ve set for yourself. Come with me, I’ll show you something interesting.” Hiruzen said as he left the money on the table to pay for Naruto’s ramen. Naruto followed Hiruzen until the arrived at a nearby training field.

“So Naruto, you said you’ve been learning about chakra and handsigns right?” Hiruzen asked. “Yeah.” Naruto replied. “Watch closely.” Hiruzen said as he began making handsigns, slowing them down greatly so that Naruto could see them. “Fire Release: Fire Ball Jutsu” Hiruzen said as he placed his hand to his mouth, cupping it in an “o” shape. Hiruzen exhaled a moderately sized fireball into the sky above. Naruto watched in awe “So that’s ninjutsu?” Naruto asked. “Yes it is. Chakra allows ninjas to do great things. One of those things in ninjutsu.” Hiruzen explained. “Will I be able to do things like that?” Naruto asked excitedly. “Yes you will, if you study and train hard.” Hiruzen said.

Inspired by Hiruzen, Naruto made sure he’d paid extra attention in his academy classes. Over the next several months, Naruto began to embrace his training at the academy. He’d learned how to properly hold and throw shuriken and kunai. He didn’t slack off on the concepts of chakra and ninjutsu either. He made sure to ask either Iruka or Sandaime about all concepts he couldn’t grasp. He had become better friends with Ino, Shikamaru and Choji. In the Academy they’d recently learned some basic taijutsu, and they had started to spar their other classmates. Today, Naruto was to face off against the number one academy student, Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto walked up to him and did the seal of confrontation, Sasuke didn’t even return it as he dashed at Naruto, trying to sweep him off his feet. Naruto saw this and he jumped and swung around with his leg, trying to kick Sasuke. Sasuke grabbed Naruto’s leg in midair and brought the young boy down to the ground swiftly holding his fist close to Naruto’s face. Naruto could hear girls cheering for Sasuke after he’d won the match.“Good match, now make the seal of reconciliation” Iruka said. Naruto got up from the ground and held out his hand to make the seal, but Sasuke just shook him off.

  
Naruto walked over to his friends who were watching him “You didn’t do too bad Naruto, I mean nobody can really beat Sasuke-kun.” Ino said. “I guess Taijutsu isn’t really my thing. It doesn’t really matter though, cause I’m going to be great at ninjutsu!” Naruto replied. “How troublesome.” Shikamaru said. Once their lesson finished, Naruto went to go looking for Hiruzen. Naruto wanted the old man to train him. Naruto went to the Hokage Tower and found the Sandaime sitting at his desk. “Jii-san, can you train me?” Naruto asked. “Train you? That would be showing favoritism Naruto, I can’t train you.” Hiruzen replied. Naruto didn’t give up though “I thought the Hokage didn’t answer to anybody. Who cares if you’re showing favoritism. You’re the Hokage. Pleaaaaase!” Naruto asked, turning on the puppy eyes. “What are you having trouble with?” he asked.

“Well, I lost today in a spar, so I could improve my taijutsu. I know how to correctly hold and throw shuriken and kunai, and I can manipulate my chakra, but I don’t know any jutsu as flashy as yours yet!” Naruto said. “Taijutsu eh? I have a scroll for that. It’s made for academy students like you.” Hiruzen said, whipping out a scroll and tossing it at Naruto. Naruto caught it and said “Thank you jii-san.” As he ran out of the Hokage Tower straight to the training field. Naruto read the scroll and did his best to emulate the Taijutsu that was on the scrolls. Over a couple of weeks of practicing Naruto began doing better in his spars. He started beating most of his classmates, besides the one’s who’s families specialized in Taijutsu, and Sasuke. Naruto hadn’t beaten Sasuke yet, but their spars had started to become closer with Naruto catching the young Uchiha off-guard sometimes.

Naruto had turned seven recently and he’d spent some time with his friends as school and Hiruzen had treated the boy to some Ichiraku Ramen. On the down side, the citizens of Konoha were particularly mean to Naruto at that day, as it was the anniversary of Kyuubi’s attack. After Naruto had left from Ichiraku Ramen he went to go play ninja with the rest of the other kids. His friends were playing as well, but when Naruto came, they had stopped. Ino, Shikamaru and Choji didn’t know why but they found out when a bigger kid came up to Naruto. “We don’t want to play ninja with the demon.” he said. Naruto was obviously sad, as it was his birthday and they were being mean to him. His friends walked over to Naruto and Ino said back “Well we didn’t want to play with you either!” she said as she stuck her tongue out at him. “Don’t worry about him Naruto. Kid’s like that are just rotten.” Shikamaru cheered him up.

A couple of months passed and when Naruto went to the academy today he’d noticed what was written on the chalkboard. “Ninjutsu! We’re finally learning about ninjutsu.” Naruto said. “Keep it quiet Naruto.” Kiba pestered from across the room. He had Akamaru on his head and he was resting his head on the desk. “I’m trying to sleep, my training with my family was brutal last night.” Kiba said. “Same here.” Shikamaru said, and all three of his friends looked completely wiped out. “Were you all training with your families last night?” Naruto asked. “Yeah, it happens in most clans. We have to start learning our clan’s jutsu early on. It’s pretty annoying.” Shikamaru said. Naruto was frustrated at this, he didn’t have a clan, or even a family. He didn’t have anyone to teach him, he’d just had to learn from the academy. It had seemed so unfair to him. Naruto just decided to sit back and listen to the lesson that Iruka was teaching. He didn’t participate much in class today, nor play with his friends. After class was over, he marched down to Sandaime’s office.

“Jii-san. Can you _please_ teach me!” Naruto pleaded. “I’ve told you this already Naruto, it would be considered showing favoritism.” Hiruzen said. “When I was at school today, all of my friends were tired. They were being trained by their parents in their clan’s jutsu. I don’t have a clan, or even a family. I have to train by myself. Don’t you think that’s unfair?” Naruto asked. “I can’t prevent families from training their children.” Hiruzen replied. “But you _can_ help train me. It’ll even the playing field. You don’t have to be there all the time. You can just give me some scrolls that you deem appropriate for my level of skill, and give me some tips sometimes. Please!” Naruto argued. Sandaime was surprised that Naruto had a decent argument, he didn’t have a choice but to cave in. “Alright, Naruto. I’ll give you a chance.” Hiruzen said. “Really, thank you so much I won’t let you down!” Naruto exclaimed. _He’s really a mix between his father and mother. He shows his father’s intellect sometimes, but he has his mother’s attitude. _

“Follow me, I don’t have these scrolls on hand, we’ll have to go down to my home.” Hiruzen said. Naruto followed him down to the Hokage Mansion and to Hiruzen’s study. He had a nice oak desk and leather chair that was in front of a window. The rest of his study was filled with books and scrolls. Hiruzen retrieved his scrolls on E- rank to C-rank jutsu. The scroll mostly held E to D-rank ninjutsu but it also held a lesser number of C-rank ninjutsu. He also retrieved a scroll on chakra control. He handed these scrolls to Naruto. “These are the scrolls you’ll start off with. Start with the chakra control scroll, and then you go to the ninjutsu scroll. You don’t have to master every ninjutsu on the scroll, but choose the ones you would like to work on. You should start know all of the E-rank ninjutsu on your scroll as they are instramental to being a ninja. Come to me if you have any questions, and don’t tell anyone what we’re doing here.” Hiruzen said. Naruto beamed “I won’t tell anyone jii-san. Thank you for helping me.” Naruto said. Naruto put the scrolls in his backpack, and ran out of Sandaime’s house.

Naruto had run to one of the training fields and sat down, he went to immediately open the scroll on ninjutsu but he remembered that Sandaime had told him to start with chakra control. Begrudgingly Naruto obeyed his orders and opened up the chakra control scroll. The first exercise he saw was the Leaf Concentration Practice. Naruto frowned, he’d already had done this before at the academy. The second exercise he’d seen he hadn’t heard before. It was the Tree Climbing Practice. At first Naruto laughed, he’d already known how to climb trees. Then he’d read further _Tree Climbing Practice is a training method that helps a shinobi learn chakra control. For this training you have to focus your chakra at the bottom of your feet, then you use the chakra you’ve gathered at the bottom of your feet to climb a tree with no hands._ _To record your progress, one should use a kunai to mark where they were on the tree. _

Naruto stood up and made a handsign to focus his chakra to his feet. He took a Kunai out of his back that he’d used for practice. Naruto tried to walk up the tree, and he didn’t get too far, he was using too much chakra and the tree was breaking as he tried to walk. He fell soon after. “Ouch.” he said, rubbing his knee. This time he tried he didn’t use enough chakra, and he lost his footing, falling again, but marking his progress. Naruto kept trying throughout the night, getting farther and farther with each try, but he still couldn’t do it. Naruto realized that it was getting dark and he gathered his things and returned home. It took a couple of days, but eventually Naruto mastered tree walking to the point where he could walk all the way to the top of the tree and stand upside down with no problems. “I did it!” Naruto yelled. Sandaime, who’d been watching from his crystal ball smiled at Naruto.

When Naruto went to the academy the next day he wanted to brag to his friends, but he didn’t want to break Sandaime’s trust in him. It didn’t stop him from being overjoyed about his accomplishment though, and when he had gotten to school he was visibly happy. “What are you so happy about?” Choji asked, while eating a bag of chips. “I learned something new.” Naruto said simply. He didn’t lie to his friends, but he didn’t tell the full truth. Naruto had felt eyes were on him, and he looked over to see Hinata. She then began looking flustered and Naruto turned to Shikamaru. “What’s her deal?” Naruto asked. “I don’t know, she’s pretty shy.” Shikamaru replied. Iruka came into the room and smiled at them. “Today we’ll be practicing the Transformation Jutsu.” he said. Iruka made a handsign and transformed into Sandaime then he dropped his transformation. “This jutsu allows a ninja to transform into anybody. It’s very useful in infiltration missions. You all learned the handsigns to this jutsu the other day. Who wants to go first?” Iruka asked.

“Ooh I do!” Naruto’s hand shot in the air. “Come on down Naruto, show us what you’ve got.” Iruka encouraged. Naruto walked from his seat to the front of the room. “Can you remind me of the handsigns again, I don’t want to mess up.” Naruto said. “Sure.” Iruka said. “The handsigns are Dog, Boar and Ram” Iruka showed Naruto slowly. “I get it now.” Naruto said as he began making the correct handsigns and molding his chakra like his scroll on chakra showed him. “Transformation Jutsu!” Naruto said as he transformed into Iruka successfully. “Nice going, Naruto.” he said. Naruto pumped his fist as he went back to his seat. “Nice job Naruto.” Ino complimented and Naruto smirked. The rest of the class took their turns coming up and transforming as well. Everyone transformed successfully and Iruka said “This seems to be an exceptional class. All of you can go home early today!” Everyone cheered and rushed out of the classroom.

Naruto went back to the training field and immediately sat down and began reading further into his scrolls. He’d noticed he was running out of things that he could do in the chakra control section, there was only one left, Water Walking. _This is another training method used to refine chakra control. Like the Tree Climbing exercise you have to send you chakra to your feet. What makes this different is that you have to emit a constant stream of chakra. Beware as the amount of chakra you need to emit changes. “_I’ll be able to walk on water?” Naruto said excitedly. Naruto got up and decided to visit the hot springs. Once Naruto had gotten there he took off his shirt and kept his shorts on. There were some people there so Naruto didn’t want to be in his underwear.

Naruto made a handsign to channel his chakra and sent a good amount of chakra to his feet. He began trying to walk and he dipped straight in the water. As soon as he touched the water Naruto jumped right out of it. “This water is steaming!” Naruto yelled. A nearby woman laughed at how naive Naruto was “It _is _a hot spring after all.” she said. After a couple of tries and falling in the water, Naruto was turning wrinkly. “If I don’t hurry up and learn this, I’ll look as old and wrinkly as jii-san. I should’ve just went to some regular water.” Naruto said. He was soaked, his red hair hung in front of his face instead of being upright and spiky as usual.Naruto put just the right amount of chakra into his feet and he started to walk on the water. “I did it!” Naruto exclaimed. Then some guy did a cannonball in the water and Naruto fell again due to the disruption. “Who does a cannonball in a hot spring?” Naruto pouted as he climbed out of the water and went to dry off.

Naruto smiled once he realized which scroll he had next. He ran over to the training field and began poring over the ninjutsu scroll. As Naruto was at the training field, Hiruzen was in a meeting with Iruka at the Hokage tower. “How are the students doing?” Hiruzen asked. “Hokage-sama their doing fantastic. They are a very talented class. We went over the Transformation Jutsu today and they all got it.” Iruka said happily. “How did Naruto do?” Hiruzen asked. “He was the first one to volunteer to attempt the Transformation Jutsu. He asked me to remind him of the handsigns, but after he did the jutsu perfectly. I’ve been noticing rapid improvement from the boy. He’s beating most of his classmates in his spars now, and he’s been very studious. It seems that he’s growing into a bright student.” Iruka said. “I’m glad to hear that Naruto has been doing well.” Sandaime replied.

Three years past since Naruto first received the scrolls and Naruto mastered _all_ of the E and D-rank ninjutsu on his scroll and he knew the majority of the C-rank ninjutsu. Naruto was at the top of his class, right next to Sasuke. Naruto was now 10 years old, and he was heading to Sandaime’s office for more training, and to give him back his scrolls. He found Sandaime at his desk filling out some paperwork alone. “Jii-san. I’ve completed your scrolls.” Naruto said, handing them to Hiruzen. “You have? I thought it’d probably take until you were a genin to have completed all of those scrolls.” Hiruzen said. “Nope. I’ve done all of them, and I learned most of the ninjutsu on that scroll too.” Naruto said. “So you’re ready for the next part of your training I figure?” Hiruzen said. “Yes. I’m ready jii-san.” Naruto replied. “We’re going down to my study, come with me.” Hiruzen ordered.

They walked down to the Hokage mansion and into Hiruzen’s study. He sat down in his leather chair and looked at Naruto. “So if you’ve completed those scrolls, you must be ready for Nature Transformation.” Hiruzen said. “What is Nature Transformation?” Naruto asked. “Nature Transformation is an advanced form of chakra control. It allows one to change the nature of their chakra. There are five basic elemental chakra natures. Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water. You remember when I showed you the Fire Ball Jutsu right? I was able to use that jutsu because of this concept. You’ll be learning this and the first thing you need to do is to discover your affinity.” Hiruzen lectured.

“Affinity?” Naruto asked. “Each person’s chakra has an affinity towards one of the five basic chakra natures. You’ll find it much easier to control the element you have an affinity for. You can find out your affinity through the use of Chakra Induction Paper, let me go find some.” Hiruzen said as he left his chair. Naruto was overjoyed at the concept of being able to find out which element he had an affinity for, but he didn’t know which one he would prefer. He wanted something flashy, but powerful. Hiruzen came back and gave Naruto a piece of paper, and he put a several pieces on his desk. “So what am I supposed to do with this?” Naruto asked. “Just rouse your chakra, it’ll reveal your chakra affinity.” Hiruzen said. _I wonder if he’ll take after his mother, with her affinity for water? Or his fathers affinity for wind?_ Hiruzen wondered as Naruto began using his chakra and the paper immediately split into two.

“What does that mean?” Naruto asked. Hiruzen smiled “It means that you have an affinity for Wind. Wind Release is one of the rarest elements. There are few people in the Land of Fire that use it.” Hiruzen said. “Well jii-san which elements can you use? I know you can use fire because when I was younger you did the Fire Ball Jutsu.” Naruto asked. “I’ll show you.” Hiruzen said, grabbing 5 pieces of Chakra Induction Paper, running his chakra through them. One of the pieces of paper turned to ash, the other wrinkled, the other was split in half, one turned to dirt and crumpled, and the last one got wet. “I possess all of the Five Basic Chakra Natures.” Hirizen said. “Wow, you’re incredible jii-san. All 5, that’s insane!” Naruto said. “Thank you, Naruto. Nature Transformation is the next step of your training. You are to learn Wind Release ninjutsu, it’ll take your training to the next level.” Hiruzen said, handing Naruto a scroll with some Wind Release jutsu in it. “You’re also to learn about all chakra natures, and their relations to each other. You’ll find out that some natures have strengths and weaknesses. Take for example Wind, it’s strong against lightning, but if used against a fire jutsu, it’ll only fan their flames. If you use wind with water, it’ll strengthen the water jutsu.” Hiruzen said, handing him a scroll explaining chakra natures.

“Lastly, if Hokage is the title you seek you need to learn more about the village and it’s people. Here’s a scroll about Konoha and the clan’s of Konoha. Be sure you train your mind as your body to become a great ninja Naruto. I’ve watched your training with my crystal ball, you are on the right path. Remember well that as your skill increases, your head shouldn’t as well. You have to stay humbled, cockiness is a shinobi is not a desirable trait.” Sarutobi said, handing Naruto another scroll that was much thicker than the rest. Naruto looked up to Hiruzen and smiled. “Thank you jii-san, for everything. I won’t let you down.” Naruto said. “I know.” Hiruzen said. Naruto placed his scrolls in his backpack and left the Hokage Mansion.

Naruto went to the training field, which had become routine for him. Today was a Saturday, so he’d had all day to train himself. He’d some of the Konoha history scroll. The first chapter was discussing how Konoha had been created by the two most powerful clans at the time, the Uchiha and Senju clans. They’d come together in peace after years at war, and settled in the place that eventually was called Konohagakure. Naruto was intrigued about this Senju clan. He’s heard about the Uchiha, but if a clan as big as the Senju helped build the village, where were they now? Naruto decided he’d just ask Sandaime the next time he seen him. After he’d finished the chapter he went on to the ninjutsu scroll. He’d saw a ninjutsu called Wind Release: Great Breakthrough and he began working on it.

A couple hours later, Naruto had mastered the jutsu, but the young Naruto didn’t realize that he had an audience. Danzo himself had been watching Naruto’s now perfected Wind Release: Great Breakthrough. _Another Wind Release user in Konoha besides Asuma Sarutobi, and I? Surprising, but what’s even more surprising is the age of the child who performed the jutsu, the boy looked no older than 10. Do we have a prodigy in our midst? The fact that the boy was the Jinchuuriki of the strongest Tailed Beast intrigued Danzo as well. Danzo is playing with the idea of putting __him in __Root. But he’d needed to find out who was training the boy. He couldn’t have gotten this far on his own, and those scrolls, particularly the one on Konoha history weren’t something one could attain easily. The only person he could’ve gotten that particular scroll form was… Hiruzen. A smile touched Danzo’s lips. He could use the boy as a bargaining chip. Danzo disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving before the boy could even detect him. _

Sandaime was on the roof on the Hokage Tower, overlooking the village. He was smoking his pipe and he was watching the peaceful Konoha. He’d heard footsteps approach him and he turned to see no other than Danzo. “Danzo, what a pleasant surprise.” Hiruzen said. “I’ve found something interesting. A boy, he seems to be a prodigy. He was no older than 10 years old, he had red hair and he was practicing Wind Release ninjutsu.” Danzo said as Hiruzen’s blood ran cold. Naruto, he’d found out that he was teaching Naruto. On the exterior Hiruzen was cool “What about him?” Hiruzen asked. “I want to train him. There isn’t a lot of Wind Release users in Konoha and I’m the best one there is here. I should train him, he could learn a lot from me. If he joins root he’ll become a strong asset for Konoha” Danzo said, hiding his ulterior motives behind a cool demeanor. Hiruzen began to refuse “No-” he started Danzo cut him off. “You _will _let me train him and allow the boy to join Root, unless you want him to be aware of his parentage as well as his Jinchuuriki status.” Danzo said with a gleam in his uncovered eye. Both of those situations were bad outcomes for Hiruzen. If he allowed Danzo to train the boy, he’d undoubtedly find a way to corrupt Naruto, or bend the boy to his will. If the boy found about his parentage and the fact that he was a Jinchuuriki it could open up a whole other can of worms.

“Danzo, I won’t allow you to train the boy. I’ll inform him of his parentage and Jinchuuriki status myself. If you try anything like this again… you’ll regret it.” Hiruzen said with a glare. “Oh, I won’t _just_ be telling Naruto about his parentage, if you don’t allow me to train the boy and induct him into Root, I’ll tell the villagers about Naruto’s parentage. I know that you don’t want that information out, people talk, once Iwagakure found out Minato had a living heir, they’d make attempts on his head within a week. Make a decision Hiruzen…” Danzo said lowly as he quickly made a handsign and left the Hokage Tower. Hiruzen was in a bind, he couldn’t allow Naruto to die. He was Konoha’s only Jinchuurki and he was family to Hiruzen. Giving him up to Danzo would be an unacceptable option as well. He couldn’t get rid of Danzo either, it would look suspicious if one of Konoha’s top ninja died without a struggle.

Hiruzen made a handsign heading to Naruto. He’d found the boy where he’d always trained. He walked up to Naruto who’d been reading his scrolls faithfully. He tapped the young boy and he’d turned towards Hiruzen quickly and his blue eyes, the same eyes his father had, lit up when he realized who it was. “Jii-san!” Naruto said. Hiruzen took a puff out of his pipe and he sighed. “Naruto, I owe you an explanation. I’ve lied to you for a long time. Allow me to inform you of what _really _happened on October 10th, ten years ago, the night you were born.” Hiruzen said. He then informed the boy of everything that had happened on that night, who his parents was, and what he’d had inside of him. Naruto was visibly hurt that Hiruzen had withheld the information he’d been asking him for since he was a kid. “So that’s why the villagers always look at me like that. Cause I have this… this _thing_ inside of me?” Naruto said, clutching his stomach. “Yes Naruto, it isn’t your fault. You aren’t the Kyuubi. You are Naruto Uzumaki the son of Minato Namikaze, the 4th Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki. You are growing to be an outstanding Shinobi and I’m so proud of you.” Hiruzen said.

“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier, all those times I’ve asked you when I was younger?” Naruto asked. “Honestly, I wasn’t planning on telling you for a long time. But I was pushed to, someone is going to tell the village this information, and that information will spread, and your father’s enemies will come after you. I want you to at least know why, not that I have any intention of letting them get you.” Hiruzen said firmly. Hiruzen began making handsigns and said “Summoning Jutsu!” with a puff of smoke, Monkey King Enma was standing right next to Hiruzen and Naruto. He was a huge primate that was taller than Naruto and Hiruzen. He had dark skin, with white fur and he wore a sleeveless kimono shirt with fur trimmings. “What’s the Kyuubi brat doing here? Where’s the fight?” Enma asked. Naruto crossed his arms “So it seems that everyone knew what was inside me, but me.” Naruto pouted. “I did it to protect you, but even I can’t protect you from what’s to come. Enma, I called on you so you can reverse summon us.” Hiruzen said. Enma looked surprised, but he followed Hiruzen’s orders. He began weaving handsigns “Reverse Summoning Jutsu!” Enma said.

They’d arrived in a rain forest that was at the base of a mountain. Naruto took in his surroundings and everything seemed so alive. The trees, the grass, the lake that ran through the rain forest. It all was much more colorful than anything he’d seen in Konoha. “What is this place?” Naruto asked. “This rain forest is the home of the Monkey King Enma, and all of the other monkey’s that are under him.” Hiruzen said. Naruto was still looking around “But why are we here?” Naruto asked, still ticked off about Hiruzen not telling him all of this sooner. Surpassing the Fourth Hokage and Jii-san is his dream, the fact that the Fourth Hokage was his father made him extremely happy. The fact that had been kept a secret from him, as well as Kyuubi being sealed in him made Naruto reasonably angry.

“This, is where I’ll train you to be strong enough to take on your father’s enemies.” Hiruzen said. Naruto was extremely excited for a second, then he realized there was a catch. “I’ll have to live here, until I’m strong enough, won’t I?” Naruto said, as his face dropped. “Unfortunately, yes. Your father made a lot of enemies in Iwagakure, they will send assassins for your head. These assassins will at least be Chunin level or above. So you’ll have to stay here until you’re strong enough, only then will you be able to return.” Hiruzen said. Naruto realized that he’d have to leave his friends for a while, he wouldn’t be able to eat Ichiraku Ramen for a while either. “How long will it take?” Naruto said, accepting it. “With your current level it’ll take a year at least.” Hiruzen said. “But what about the Academy? Also, you can’t just stay here to train me you’re the Hokage.” Naruto said.

“I won’t be here physically, I’ll have a Shadow Clone manage your training. I’ll be back at the village leading it, and explaining to the people about your heritage. They will be tipped off by someone soon, who knows if they haven’t already. As for the academy, you’re already far stronger than most academy students. But to maintain appearances a Shadow Clone of you will return to the village with me. I’ll begin teaching you the jutsu now.” Hiruzen said. He then proceeded to coach Naruto quickly on how to use the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and he showed him the handsigns. It took Naruto a couple of hours or so, but eventually he was able to use it.

“Who is this person who’s going to be telling the village everything? Why don’t you just beat him up and stop him?” Naruto asked, scratching his head. “The ninja who’s doing this is someone that was very close to me, once upon a time. His name is Danzo. He’s a ruthless ninja, but he’s done good for the village. I would’ve never expected him to give me such an ultimatum that would lead to all of this. But believe me, he’ll never catch me off guard again.” Hiruzen said with a steely expression. “Danzo! I never trusted him.” Enma snarled. Hiruzen smiled at Naruto. “It’s time for me to go Naruto. My clone will watch over you here, and nobody will be able to find you. Train hard, and you’ll be back in no time. I’m sincerely sorry for lying to you for so long, but you must understand it was only to protect you from what we have to go through now. Create your Shadow Clone, and we’ll head back to the village.” Hiruzen said.

Naruto tried to remain mad at Hiruzen, he’d kept the truth away from him for so long. But Naruto could see it in his eyes that he’d only done it to keep him safe. Naruto sometimes hated that he wasn’t good at keeping a grudge. “Alright, I’ll train hard. I don’t plan on abandoning my goal. I will become the greatest Hokage ever, surpassing the likes of you and my dad. Don’t forget it Jii-san.” Naruto said. Naruto made a handsign and said “Shadow Clone Jutsu!” and a perfect clone of Naruto appeared next to him. “Go with Jii-san.” Naruto said and the clone walked to Hiruzen. Hiruzen created his own clone and left it with Naruto. “I’ll take good care of the Kyuubi brat. Won’t let him become food for all the monkeys.” he said as the bushes began rustling and Naruto turned to see monkey’s jumping back into the trees. Enma made handsigns and said “Reverse Summoning Jutsu!” Naruto smiled. “Time to train with you for real Jii-san.” Naruto said.


	2. Academy Graduation

Sandaime Hokage’s Legacy

One in a half years later, Naruto who’d concluded his training was Reversed Summoned back to Konoha by Enma. “Bye Naruto, take care of yourself out there kid.” Enma said before he created the proper handsigns and sent Naruto back. Naruto arrived at the training field, fortunately it was empty, it would’ve been hard for him to explain how he just appeared there randomly. It was a Saturday, so Naruto’s Shadow Clone wouldn’t be at school, so dispelled his Shadow Clone. He’d had a moderate headache as a year’s worth of information was flooding to his brain.“It’s good to be back home.” Naruto said to himself as he walked his village, heading straight towards Ichiraku Ramen, which he hadn’t had in a year or so. Naruto walked in and Teuchi and Ayame smiled at him. “We haven’t seen you in a while, we thought you forgot about us. You was announced the son of Yondaime and we haven’t seen you after that, you got too good for us?” Teuchi asked. “No, I was just very busy. I’m not the type that forgets my friends, son of Yondaime or not.” Naruto said. He was afraid that people would treat him different since he was now the son of Yondaime. Naruto wanted to be acknowledged by not for that reason.

“So what will you have Naruto?” Ayame asked. “The usual of course.” Naruto said. “Miso Ramen coming up!” Ayame said as she went to the back and began making the ramen. While he was training Hiruzen had asked Naruto if he wanted to change his last name to reflect his parentage. Naruto surprised himself and Hiruzen by declining. He was proud of his parentage, but he would keep his name as Naruto Uzumaki instead of Namikaze. Naruto has always been an Uzumaki, and just because his father was a Namikaze, didn’t mean that he had to change his name. He’d struggled with the decision though, because he was a Namikaze by birth. He’d only hoped that his father would accept and understand his decision. He was and would always be Naruto Uzumaki. Ayame brought Naruto his bowl and he’d placed the correct amount of money on the table. “Thank you Ayame.” Naruto said as he began eating his ramen. Naruto ate at a reasonable pace instead of slurping his ramen like there was no tomorrow. Teuchi was surprised “Are you sure you’re Naruto Uzumaki? Cause the Naruto I’d known would’ve devoured that bowl of ramen whole by now.” Teuchi said. Naruto looked up and smiled “I guess I’m not in so much of a rush anymore.” Naruto said. “But don’t doubt me.” Naruto replied as he picked up the whole bowl and slurped it down like he’d use to. “There’s the Naruto I know!” Teuchi replied. “Thanks again for the meal, I’ve already given Ayame the money.” Naruto said as he left Ichiraku Ramen.

Naruto began walking to the Hokage tower and he’d seen a lot of people watching him as he was walking through the village. Naruto knew why eyes were on him, but he still wasn’t used to it. Once he’d got to the Hokage tower he’d saw Hiruzen sitting at his desk. “Naruto… it’s good to see you with my own eyes. It’s been too long.” Hiruzen said, examining the boy. Naruto had grown, but not significantly. He’d wore black shinobi pants and a black jacket with red outlines on the shoulder part and on the zipper, under it was a mesh sweater, he also wore black guards for his arms and hands. His jacket had a collar, but it didn’t go up too far as you could still see all of Naruto’s face. Naruto saw Hiruzen examined him and turned to show him his back, on Naruto’s back was an Uzumaki swirl shown proudly. Naruto turned and smirked.

“So how has the village been responding to everything? How has my father’s enemies responded to my parentage?” Naruto asked. “Well the village has taken everything well, they loved Yondaime and you’re his only heir. You are beloved in the village, besides some people that can’t see past the fact that you’re Kyuubi’s Jinchuuriki. As far as your father’s enemies… there has been assassination attempts against you. I’ve had Anbu guarding you, so if someone tries, your clone wouldn’t disappear. After a while I pressured the Tsuchikage that if they openly try to assassinate you, we’ll go to war against them. They backed off, because they wouldn’t win a war with us. But when you become a genin and go on missions, they’ll undoubtedly try to assassinate you while you’re out of the village.” Sandaime said sadly. “Well that’s why I’ve been trained by the current strongest Kage. I won’t allow them to take me, at least not easily.” Naruto grinned. “Where will I live? My father’s old house?” Naruto asked. Hiruzen nodded “Yes, your stuff is already moved in. I’ll come with you, I’ll have to explain some things to you once we get there.” Hiruzen said. “Lead the way.” Naruto said.

A couple of minutes later, Naruto and Hiruzen were standing at the outside of Minato’s old house. It was a medium-sized modest home. It was in an economy district of Konoha and it was surrounded by houses that were similar to it. Naruto and Hiruzen walked up the stairs and opened the door Hiruzen opened it using a key he’d withdrawn and they went inside. The house had a kitchen with the counter in front of the stove. It had a nice table with four chairs and a hardwood floor. In the back there were two rooms. It still seemed lived in, Naruto could imagine his mother and father enjoying meals in the kitchen. He’d walked to one of the rooms in the back and it was obviously Minato’s and Kushina’s master bedroom. It was a large sized room with a bathroom inside. On the closet door there was a hook and it held Minato’s short sleeved white haori with red flames on it, on the back it read “Yondaime Hokage”

Naruto’s eyes widened as he reached out to touch it. “Ah yes, I remember when Minato first started wearing it once he became the Hokage.” Hiruzen said. “While we’re in this room, this is what I came to show you.” Hiruzen said as he pulled out one of Minato’s drawers, it had socks in it and then he lifted up the false bottom to reveal a two scrolls and an envelope.“This is a scroll that people would kill to get their hands on. Within this scroll is the secret of the Flying Thunder God, the jutsu that made your father famous.” Hiruzen said and Naruto became speechless. “You’re going to learn it, but it’s a task that you’ll have to do alone. Nobody else besides your father knows the Flying Thunder God, not even me. So you’ll have to learn it alone. I must warn you Naruto, don’t let this jutsu get into the wrong hands.” Hiruzen said seriously as he placed the scroll into Naruto’s hands. “I won’t let you or my father down.” Naruto replied, gripping the scroll. “This other scroll is one from your mother, she left a letter with it as well. The scroll details one of your mother’s jutsu, Adamantine Sealing Chains. I don’t know what the letter says, you can read it yourself.” Hiruzen said, whilst handing Naruto both a scroll and a letter.

“Speaking _of _Danzo, what are you going to do with him? He broke one of your laws, there should be some repercussions.” Naruto said. “After he told the village about your parentage I took away his position as a ninja and threw him in jail.” Hiruzen said. “It’s what he deserves. How did the counsel take it?” Naruto asked. “They couldn’t really argue with me, he did break a law of mine. I still worry about him manipulating Root by some other way though. Danzo’s not the type to just take something like this lying down without a fight.” Hiruzen said in a concerned tone. “Also Naruto, the academy graduation is in a couple of months. Even though you’re past genin level, you’ll have to start off as a genin like everyone else, nor can you graduate early. If I allowed you too, other skilled students like Sasuke would want the same privilege.” Hiruzen said seriously. “I anticipated that, it’ll be fine I’ve missed my friends, we might all be on separate teams, so I’ll enjoy the time I have with them now in the Academy. Hiruzen smiled at the young shinobi, he’d had a good head on his shoulders, and an even better heart. “I’ll leave you alone to your home now. Remember, keep those scrolls away from anyone’s eyes and to train _that_ jutsu discreetly.” Hiruzen warned. “See ya later Jii-san.” Naruto said as the Hokage walked out of the door.

One Hiruzen walked out of the door Naruto opened the letter from his mother. It read “_Dear Naruto, today is the day that we’ve been planning on for a while. Special arrangements had to be made for your birth because I’m a jinchuuriki. The seal weakens during childbirth so we had to take extra precautions. I’m nervous a little, there are all these Anbu guarding the area, all these precautions, they’re just putting me on edge ya know? But I’m writing this letter just in case things don’t go as planned. The first thing that I want you to know is that both me and your father love you so very much Naruto. You are the light of our world and you haven’t even been born yet. I hope you don’t have to read this letter, I hope your birth goes perfectly fine and that you’re a healthy baby. That’s all I want from you is to be happy and healthy. And maybe that you don’t inherit my red hair…I always got picked on for it, they called me tomato. I hope you get your father’s blonde and spiky hair, __I’d always loved his hair. __Anyways Naruto, I left this scroll for you, your father did the same although he didn’t write because he was busy. The scroll details an Uzumaki jutsu called the Adamantine Sealing Chains. It’s one of my best jutsu! If the worse happens… I don’t want the jutsu to die with me. I don’t want to think like that though. Well, you’re kicking and my contractions are worsening so it probably means that you’re ready to come into the world. I can’t wait to meet you Naruto, remember __that __we love you. _

_ -Kushina Uzumaki_

Naruto got up and wiped his eyes as he’d been crying throughout reading his mothers letter. He could feel his mother’s love through it and he would be sure to cherish the letter forever. Naruto opened up the scroll and began to read about his mother’s jutsu. He decided he’d try to learn this one first, before he would learn his father’s Flying Thunder God. He realized he still had ways to go before trying to learn the Flying Thunder God, despite how much he wanted to try to learn it immediately. When he read his mother’s scroll he realized it had two jutsu. One was a lesser form of the Adamantine Sealing Chains, it was called the Adamantine Attacking Chains. His mother probably meant for him to master the Attacking Chains first, as they weren’t as tough as the Adamantine Sealing Chains.

After the weekend Naruto returned to the academy and sat where he’d always did. “Hey Naruto.” Shikamaru said. “Hey guys, graduation is coming in a couple of months, are you guys nervous?” Naruto asked. “Not really, I’ve pretty much mastered most of the jutsu they taught us. My academic scores are low though cause I always sleep when tests are going on.” Shikamaru said. “My scores are among the highest in the class, I’m the number one Kunoichi in the class and I’m not far behind Sasuke-kun and Naruto as the top student.” Ino bragged. Naruto didn’t even realize that he was tied as the top student next to Sasuke. His clone must’ve done well. “My scores aren’t anything special, I’m not bad.” Choji said. “There’s no reason for you to be worried Naruto, you’re tied with Sasuke as the top student. It seems like you inherited the Yondaime’s skills” Ino said. “Maybe, but I’ve trained hard. My dad had nothing to do with that. Naruto noticed Sasuke was glaring at him from across the room. Sasuke was always cold, he understood why. His entire family had been massacred, but Naruto didn’t have family like him, he would be one of the few people in the village that would be able to understand him. Naruto didn’t dislike Sasuke for it though, he’d just felt bad for him. He hasn’t found any true friends yet, just followers. Iruka walked into the classroom and gave his lesson and after they’d all left the Academy.

A couple of months past and today was the day of the graduation exam. “Finally we’re gonna leave the academy. You all should be more excited!” Ino encouraged. “I’m ready to graduate and become a ninja already.” Naruto replied. “I don’t know about Shikamaru though?” Naruto said as he gestured to Shikamaru who was laying his head on his desk. “Don’t worry, he’ll probably get up. As much as he loves sleeping he doesn’t want to be here any longer than he has to be. He’ll get up when it’s time.” Choji said. Mizuki began handing out the written test and pencils. Once everyone had their tests Iruka spoke up. “Alright guys, the first part of this exam is the written part. I hope you’re all prepared. You may now begin the written test.” he said. Naruto picked his test up and looked over it front and back. The test had questions that asked about the ninja code, real life scenarios and plenty of other things. Naruto answered all of his answers correctly, all this knowledge had been drilled into his head by Sandaime already. He and Sasuke both put their pencils down and flipped over their exams at the same time. Sasuke realized that someone had finished at the same time and looked over to Naruto who was smirking. A slight smirk came to Sasuke’s face as well.

About ten minutes passed and everyone was done with their exams, even Shikamaru who’d woke up to take his test. “Alright, for the second part of the exam we have to go outside. Follow me everyone.” Iruka ordered. Naruto got up to follow him and once they’d got outside they all realized that there were targets set up. “Now we’ll test your aim. We have eight targets, you must hit the majority of them to pass. It’ll be alright if you cannot hit them all.” Iruka said. The academy students were to take turns hitting the targets and Naruto was towards the back of the line. It was Hinata’s turn and she was sweating, she’d obviously been nervous. She walked to the line and threw her kunai. She’d hit five targets, it was the majority so she was good enough to pass. When it was Ino’s turn she’d hit seven of the targets. Choji and Shikamaru both hit six targets. When it was Sasuke’s turn he clutched his kunai in between his fingers and he jumped in the air and did a flip and hit all eight of the targets. He smirked as he got out of the line and sat with the rest of the students who had successfully hit the majority of the targets.

Now it was Naruto’s turn. Naruto retrieved his kunai from his pouch and clutched them between the gaps of his fingers. Naruto jumped in the air, and flipped in midair and threw his kunai all with his eyes closed. They all hit their targets bullseye and Naruto walked over to his friends. “What a showoff you and Sasuke are.” Shikamaru said. Naruto smiled “Sometimes I can’t help it.” he said. Naruto noticed that some of the girls in his class were swooning over him after they’d saw him hit all the targets. Now that Naruto wasn’t just the jinchuuriki and he was the Yondaime’s son he was gaining extra attention. He didn’t mind, but he also wanted someone who liked him for him, not because of his father. They watched the rest of their classmates do this part of the exam and Iruka started to announce the next portion. “This portion is the ninjutsu portion. You’re all to perform the Transformation Jutsu and Clone Jutsu. That’s the jutsu you’re all required to know. But if you have any other jutsu such as a family ninjutsu or any other ninjutsu you’ve learned you may show us. It may help you out, if you lacked on another portion of the examination” Iruka said.

Everyone lined up once more and everyone began displaying their Transformation and Clone Jutsu. Some of their classmates used their family ninjutsu, like Kiba who used their Fang over Fang. Most of the academy students in a clan showed off their families ninjutsu. Naruto began wondering what jutsu he was going to show off. It couldn’t be something too high level, Sandaime already warned him against doing that. It was Sasuke’s turn to step up and he successfully used the Transformation Jutsu and Clone Jutsu. “Do you have anything else you want to show us Sasuke?” Iruka asked. “Yeah, I do stand back.” Sasuke said confidently. Sasuke began making handsigns and said “Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!” as he expelled a big fire ball into the sky. “Impressive, the Uchiha’s Great Fireball Jutsu. Next up!” Iruka said.

Naruto stepped up and he made the handsigns for the Transformation Jutsu, transforming into Iruka. “That’s a handsome guy over there huh?” Iruka said and he got some laughs from the class. Naruto dropped his transformation and made the handsigns for the clone jutsu. He made three perfect clones of himself. “Is that all Naruto?” Iruka asked. “No.” Naruto replied as he began making handsigns “Water Release: Wild Water Wave!” Naruto exclaimed as he spewed a powerful stream of water. “Water Release? I see someone’s been training hard.” Iruka smiled.

“That was the last exam we had for you guys. So you all pass, congratulations!” Iruka cheered them on. Mizuki came out from the building rolling a cart full of Hitai-ate’s. “Naruto, since you went last you can pick first. Is there any specific color that you want?” Iruka asked. “I’d like black if you have it.” Naruto said. Iruka reached into the cart and handed Naruto a long black Hitai-ate. “Thank you, Iruka-sensei.” Naruto said as he grabbed it and tied it around his forehead. The cloth was long and it flowed behind his back, kind of like Sandaime’s. After Iruka and Mizuki finished handing out everyone’s Hitai-ate’s Iruka began to speak. “All of you come back here tomorrow. That’s where we’ll discuss what’s next. Naruto decided to go to Hiruzen’s office to show off his brand new hitai-ate. Once he’d gotten there he flashed his headband to Hiruzen and the old man smiled. “You’ve become a ninja officially now. Be prepared, the world of the Shinobi is a harsh one.” Hiruzen warned. Suddenly someone came running into the room and threw multiple shuriken at Hiruzen, but he tripped while throwing the last one. Naruto blocked all of the shuriken with a kunai and he was going to retaliate until he realized the attacker was just a kid.

“Damn it! Who set a trap?” He yelled as an Jonin came running behind him. “Hey! I know it was you!” he yelled at Naruto and Naruto grabbed him by his long blue scarf. “You tripped on your own!” Naruto said. “Naruto, let go of him, he is Sandaime’s grandson.” Ebisu said. “Go ahead and punch me! Can’t do it huh?” Konohamaru taunted and as he did Naruto clobbered him, punching him in his head. “I don’t like bragging about this but do you know who I am? I’m the son of the Yondaime, Naruto Uzumaki. Don’t forget it!” Naruto said. He left Sandaime’s office to go train and throughout Konoha he’d noticed a presence following him. He turned around and saw Konohamaru barely camouflaging himself. “Come on out Konohamaru… you aren’t fooling anybody.” Naruto called out. Konohamaru dropped his disguise “So the rumors about you are true. Naruto, I’ll let you beat my boss if you teach me a killer ninjutsu to beat grandpa.” Konohamaru said. “I don’t know any jutsu like that. Your grandpa is the strongest of all of the Five Kage right now, even as an old man.” Naruto said. “Follow me.” Naruto ordered.

They walked over to the training field and Naruto said “I know why you’re always after your grandpa. When everyone sees you, they only see Sandaime’s grandson right? It’s been happening to me recently too. Now that people know that the Yondaime is my father, people expect greatness out of me because of it. Back when I was just Naruto Uzumaki, an unknown nobody, people expected nothing out of me.” Naruto admitted. “Yeah, nobody sees me as me, Konohamaru. They see me as the grandson of Sandaime, like you said. I’m sick of it, that’s why I want the Hokage title.” Konohamaru said. “You’re underestimating the Hokage name.” Naruto replied. “What do you mean?” Konohamaru asked. “You asked me about teaching you a jutsu that would defeat your grandpa, in short, you wanted a shortcut. If you want a name that’s as prestigious as the Hokage, there isn’t going to be any shortcuts.” Naruto said to Konohamaru and his eyes widened.

The next day, Naruto walked over to the academy and sat in his usual seat. Naruto knew today was the day they assign teams. Sandaime didn’t tell Naruto who he’d be assigned to but Naruto just hoped it would be a capable Jonin. Iruka began speaking up. “Starting today you are all real ninja, but you’re only rookie genin. The academy is easy, compared to the life of a ninja ahead of you all. Today you’ll be assigned three man teams, and each of them will have a Jonin Sensei. They will lead you on your missions. The Hokage chose the teams and the Sensei’s that he thought would suit you all best.” Iruka said. “The first team is Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka, and Shikamaru Nara. Your Jonin Sensei is Asuma Sarutobi.” Iruka said. His friends all looked excited to be with each other, but then they realized Naruto would be left out. “Naruto…” Ino began. “It’s fine, you all have each other. I’m happy for you guys. It’s not like we won’t see each other, we live in the same village after all.” Naruto said. He was sorta sad he’d be on a different team from his friends, but he understood why. Sandaime had told him the last generation of Ino-Shika-Cho had been great ninjas. He probably wanted to keep the tradition going.

“Yeah that’s right, we’ll still be able to see each other.” Ino replied. “The second team is Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha. Your Jonin Sensei will be Kakashi Hatake.” Iruka announced. Naruto didn’t mind his teammates, Sasuke was a little cocky, but he was skilled. He didn’t know too much about Sakura besides the fact that she liked Sasuke and that she was pretty smart. Kakashi Hatake was a pretty capable ninja from what Naruto had heard from Sandaime, he’s also a student of his father, so that would be a plus as well. “The last team is Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga and Shino Aburame, your sensei is Kurenai Yuhi. This afternoon you’ll meet your Sensei, until then you all have a break.” Iruka said. Naruto walked outside to go train until then. Once he’d gotten to the training field he had to decide on what he’d work on with the time he had remaining. During his training with Hiruzen, Naruto gained a solid ninjutsu base, and he became adept at two changes in chakra nature, Wind and Water. He held varying level of skill in almost all of the ninja arts, besides genjutsu, which Naruto had always been terrible at. Naruto decided to work on the weaker version of his mother’s jutsu, Adamantine Attacking Chains. Naruto began making handsigns, which were used as training wheels for the jutsu because adept users didn’t need handsigns. Four chains manifested from Naruto’s back. They were bigger than the last time he tried it, but smaller than he’d thought they’d be as the scroll stated that they could be stretched out for hundreds of feet, his chains were only about 15 feet each. Naruto swung them at a nearby tree and they pulverized the tree into splinters. “Whoa… that’s pretty cool.” he thought as he grinned widely. Naruto tried to extend them, and he couldn’t get them to extend longer than a couple feet. Naruto just shrugged and continued to destroy the nearby trees with his new jutsu.

_At the same time as Naruto’s training, Kakashi and Hiruzen were in a meeting discussing the teams. “I have an interesting team it seems. Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno. I wonder what they’re like.” Kakashi pondered. Hiruzen smiled “Don’t underestimate them, especially Naruto. I’ve trained him myself.” Hiruzen said. Kakashi was visibly shocked “You trained him yourself? But you never do that. You always said it was playing favorites.” Kakashi said. “You know that Danzo was the reason that everyone knows that Naruto is the Yondaime’s son right? That’s the reason why Danzo sits in prison today. Danzo had seen Naruto training and I guess he saw Naruto’s potential. Naruto’s a Wind Release user, as is Danzo, so he requested that he could train the boy. I told him no of course, and he told me that if I didn’t allow him to train Naruto and induct him into Root that he would tell Konoha of Naruto’s parentage. You know the Yondaime has plenty of enemies across the lands, but especially in Iwa. I had to train Naruto to be able to defend himself. So I taught him how to make a Shadow Clone, he’d sent that Shadow Clone to the academy to keep up appearances. Meanwhile, he and a Shadow Clone of me were training outside of the village, where he couldn’t be harmed.” Hiruzen said. _

“_So if he trained with you… how advanced is he?” Kakashi asked. “Well, I wanted him to be strong enough to fight off assassination attempts against him. So he’s about at a Jonin level.” Hiruzen informed him. “Jonin level? That’s pretty impressive for a boy that’s fresh out of the academy.” Kakashi said.”Has he had any assassination attempts yet? Iwa knows about him I’m sure.” Kakashi asked. Hiruzen nodded “He has, there has been plenty of assassination attempts on the Shadow Clone that he’s left in the village. I had to apply pressure on Iwagakure. I told them that if they keep trying to assassinate one of our ninja’s in Konoha we’ll go to war with them. They’ll leave him alone for now, but once he steps out of the village it’s fair game. That’s another reason why I put him on your team.” Hiruzen said. “But he should be fine he inherited his father’s skill. Naruto is a prodigy, like people used to say Itachi was.” Hiruzen said. “Where does his skills lie?” Kakashi asked. “You’ll see once you test him yourself. He isn’t as strong as you, but he’ll surprise you. He’s pretty ingenious.” Hiruzen warned. _

Naruto realized what time it was and went back to the academy to meet with his team and their Sensei. Sakura and Sasuke were in the waiting room already, and Kakashi still wasn’t there. A few moments later he arrived and he pointed upwards. “Meet me on the roof.” he said as he vanished. Naruto walked up the stairs and met Kakashi on the roof. “Alright let’s start with introductions.” Kakashi said. “What do you wanna know?” Sakura asked. “How about your name, likes, dislikes, and dreams for the future?” Kakashi said. “How about you start?” Naruto said. “My name is Kakashi Hatake. I don’t really feel like telling you all my likes and dislikes, as for my hopes and dreams… well I have a lot of hobbies.” Kakashi said mysteriously. “So we basically learned nothing but his name.” Sakura whispered. “Alright, it’s you guys turn. Start from left to right.” Kakashi ordered. Sasuke was at the far left, and Naruto at the right. “My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There’s tons of things I dislike, and I don’t really like a lot of things…” Sasuke began. His eyes then darkened “What I have, I don’t want to call it a dream, because I’ll make it a reality. Let’s just call it an ambition. I want to resurrect my clan and kill a certain someone…” Sasuke trailed off.

Naruto wondered if he’d been talking about Itachi, his brother who’d massacred the Uchiha Clan. He couldn’t really hate anyone else that bad besides him. “Now the girl.” Kakashi gestured to Sakura. “I’m Sakura Haruno. The thing I like is…” She trailed off as she looked towards Sasuke. “I don’t really dislike anything. Should I say my dream for the future?” she blushed as she looked at Sasuke again. “Alright, last up.” Kakashi said, looking at Naruto. “My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen, especially Miso. I like to train as well. I don’t dislike much, but I don’t like waiting for my ramen to cook. My dream is to become a Hokage that surpasses all of my predecessors.” Naruto declared as he smiled. Kakashi couldn’t help but crack a smile as well.

“Okay guys, we start our duties as ninjas tomorrow. But first we’re going to do something with just the four of us, survival training.” Kakashi said. Sakura looked confused “Survival training? But Sensei we’ve done more than enough training at the Academy.” he said. Naruto also wondered what this survival training was about. “For this training I’m your opponent. Don’t think for a second that this will be like any of the training you’ve had in the academy.” Kakashi said. “You’re our opponent? This should be fun.” Naruto said. “It’ll be anything but…” Kakashi said as he began chuckling. “You guys’ are going to be upset when I tell you this but… graduating the academy only gives you the _chance_ to become a Genin. Of the 27 people that graduated, only 9 of you will be chosen as Genin. The rest will be sent back to the academy where they belong.” Kakashi taunted. “This survival training is a super difficult exam with a failure rate of over 66 percent.” Kakashi said. Sakura and Naruto were both shook by the news, Sasuke had no visible reaction. Naruto straightened himself out. “I’m not going back to the academy. I’m passing this survival training. It’ll be my first step to becoming the Hokage.” Naruto declared. “Big talk, let’s hope you can back it up Naruto.” Kakashi mocked. “Anyways, the survival training takes place tomorrow at the training field. Bring all your ninja tools, and skip breakfast… you’ll throw it all up.” Kakashi said. “See you all tomorrow…” Kakashi made a handsign and disappeared.

The next day, Naruto woke up and he began getting dressed. He debated eating breakfast, but he’d do as his Sensei told him to do and not eat. He walked over to the training field and his team, sans Kakashi were waiting. “Where’s Kakashi Sensei?” Naruto asked. “He’s late.” Sakura said. A few minutes later Kakashi showed up. “Yo.” he said, waving his hand. “You’re late Kakashi Sensei.” Naruto replied. Kakashi walked up to three stumps of wood and set a timer. “This timer is set for noon, your tasks are to take these two bells from me before then.” Kakashi said as Naruto heard the jingle of bells. “Those who cannot get a bell by noon, gets no lunch. I’ll not only tie you to a stump, but I’ll also eat in front of you, making you much hungrier.” Kakashi said evilly. “You only need to get one bell. There are only two, so one of you will definitely be tied to a stump. The person who doesn’t take a bell fails and gets sent back to the academy.” Kakashi said. Naruto had to make sure he got one, he wouldn’t be sent back to the academy. But it wouldn’t be easy, Kakashi is a very skilled Jonin.

“You guys can even use your Kunai and Shuriken, you won’t succeed unless you come at me intending to kill.” Kakashi said. “But Kakashi Sensei, you’ll be in danger!” Sakura exclaimed. “Nah, Kakashi Sensei is a Jonin, he won’t go down that easily.” Naruto said “He’s right. It seems that Naruto has already acknowledged me. The rest of you should follow suit.” Kakashi said. “Anyways, if none of you have any more questions or comments, you may begin.” Kakashi announced.

Naruto immediately jumped into a nearby bush and hid himself well. He was in a position where he could still see Kakashi, but he was sure Kakashi wouldn’t be able to see him. Naruto made a handsign and sent dozens of Shadow Clones at Kakashi to observe how the Jonin fought. Naruto tried to find one of his teammates and he’d found Sakura hiding in some bushes. “Hey Sakura! You should help me fight Kakashi Sensei. We won’t be able to beat him by ourselves.” Naruto said. “Naruto, there’s only two bells. We have to do this on our own.” Sakura replied. Naruto shook his head as he went to find Sasuke. He’d found Sasuke laying under some brush. “Sasuke, help me out here. We won’t be able to beat Kakashi Sensei individually, he’s much too strong.” Naruto said. “He may be too strong for you, but not me.” Sasuke said. “Look over there Sasuke.” Naruto pointed to where Kakashi was annihilating all of his Shadow Clones. “You see.” Naruto said. Naruto made a handsign and the explosive shadow clone he’d mixed in with the regular ones exploded. Kakashi quickly jumped into the air and Naruto jumped from the bushes to meet him in midair.

Naruto threw a shuriken and began making handsigns “Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!” Naruto yelled as dozens of shuriken appeared from smoke clouds and began to surround Kakashi. “I’m going to be in trouble here.” Kakashi thought as he quickly replaced himself with one of Naruto’s Shadow Clone’s that he hadn’t defeated yet. All of Naruto’s shuriken converged on the Shadow Clone and the clone poofed out of existence. Naruto landed on the ground and looked at Kakashi. “Well I tried to get help, but my teammate wouldn’t help me, so I guess I’ll fight you myself.” Naruto said. “Maybe you should’ve tried harder before coming to challenge me.” Kakashi replied. “Well I saw my window of opportunity and I had to take it.” Naruto said. “Let’s see what the son of my Sensei can do.” Kakashi said as he dashed at Naruto, engaging him in combat. Kakashi had the upper hand, he had longer limbs and was able to keep Naruto at a distance while still hitting the young ninja. Naruto jumped into the air and made the handsign for the Shadow Clone Jutsu and he created one clone. He and his clone simultaneously made handsigns and the real Naruto yelled “Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!” as the clone yelled “Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!” as both of the jutsu collided to make a fearsome wind enhanced water bullet that was headed straight for Kakashi.

Kakashi couldn’t dodge in time and was pushed into the water by the water bullet as Naruto had planned. Naruto quickly maneuvered himself behind Kakashi and began making handsigns “Water Prison Jutsu!” Naruto said as water began to surround Kakashi, but Kakashi quickly replaced himself with Naruto and it was Naruto who was stuck in the Water Prison. “Nice try Naruto. You caught me off guard for a moment. But once the water began getting heavy I knew what was happening. Now let’s see what your teammates can do.” Kakashi said as he began to turn around, but Naruto wasn’t in the Water Prison anymore. Kakashi was confused for a moment but he realized what had happened. “Back when your clones were fighting me, you sent one to the water, just in case.” Kakashi said. “Yup, so our match isn’t over.” Naruto smirked.

Sasuke and Sakura who were watching the whole fight go down, were in awe. Naruto wasn’t beating Kakashi, but he had been giving the Jonin a run for his money. Naruto got in a battle stance and Kakashi did the same. Naruto began making handsigns and yelled “Water Release: Starch Syrup Capturing Field!” as he expelled water on the ground that was as sticky as syrup. It pooled at Kakashi’s feet, making it hard for him to move and Naruto swiftly created a clone and the clone threw the real Naruto at Kakashi. Naruto reached out for the bells that were at Kakashi’s side and Naruto touched them, but he didn’t grab them as Kakashi had moved just enough to keep Naruto from getting the bells. As Naruto was still soaring through the air he quickly turned around and threw a kunai at the bell’s strings. It cut the bells and they began to drop as Naruto made a handsign “Body Flicker Jutsu!” he said as he moved quickly and retrieved both of the bells “Yes! I got it!” Naruto exclaimed.

“Well it seems that Naruto has both of the bells, only he’ll pass. The rest of you will be sent back to the academy” Kakashi said. Both Sakura and Sasuke got out of their hiding spots and Sakura began to complain. “No, I don’t want it to be like that.” Naruto said. “If there’s just me, and Kakashi Sensei there isn’t a team. We’re a team of four, so I’m giving my bells to Sasuke and Sakura.” Naruto said as he handed his bells to both Sasuke and Sakura. “Are you sure you want to do this Naruto? They didn’t even help you get the bells.” Kakashi questioned. “I know, but we’re still a team right?” Naruto said. “You all pass!” Kakashi exclaimed. Sakura’s eyes lit up. “We passed?” she asked. “That’s right! What Naruto did was the essence of teamwork. Even though none of you helped him obtain the bells, he selflessly gave them to you both. You both could learn something from him.” Kakashi said. Naruto grinned proudly. “We passed! I’m happy, I didn’t think that would work. I figured out the idea was teamwork, but I still wasn’t sure about just giving away my bells.” Naruto said.

“A ninja must see underneath the underneath. Those who break the rules and the ninja code are trash, but those who don’t take care of their friends are worse than trash!” Kakashi declared. “Starting tomorrow Team 7 will begin it’s missions. Be ready!” Kakashi said. For the next couple of weeks Team 7 had been completing menial tasks such as babysitting, yard work, and the one Naruto didn’t like the most, chasing after Tora, the lost pet. Hiruzen had drilled into his head that everything had a purpose, and even D-rank mission had a purpose, but Naruto was tired of them. Back at the mission hall, Team 7 had just finished finding Tora. They came to collect their payment and receive a new mission. “Team 7, your new mission is… doing helping an old lady move her stuff into her new home.” Hiruzen said. Naruto was immediately opposed to doing this mission. “Jii-san, can we get an more advanced mission please? We’ve been doing D-ranks for a while now. I could send a Shadow Clone to go help the old lady move her stuff, but I want an actual mission.” Naruto pleaded. “Remember Naruto, you guys are just rookies, everyone starts off with D-rank missions and works their way up.” Iruka said. “You’ll send Shadow Clones to help the lady right?” Hiruzen asked and Naruto nodded. “Fine, I’ll give you a C-rank mission. It’s a mission where you’ll all serve as a bodyguard for a certain individual. Tazuna, come on out.” Hiruzen said.

Tazuna stumbled through the door and a stench of booze filled the air. “What’s this? I’m being guarded by a bunch of brats.” Tazuna said in disbelief. “They are capable ninja, and I’m a Jonin. You’ll be fine.” Kakashi said. “I’m the expert bridge builder Tazuna and I expect you all to provide me protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge.” he said. Team 7 left the mission hall and met at the entrance to Konoha. “Let’s go guys!” Kakashi said, as they began walking.


	3. Rumble in the Land of Waves

Naruto had been on edge every since they’d left the villages boundaries. Hiruzen had told him that once he’d left the village, he’d be fair game to assassination attempts so he was on his guard. As they’d walked by a puddle, Kakashi had a strange look on his face. Naruto couldn’t place why, but he did. Suddenly, two enemies dashed at Kakashi and they’d wrapped a chain around him and they were tugging the chain from opposite sides. “One down” both ninja said as they yanked the chain and it ripped through Kakashi’s body. “Kakashi Sensei!” Sakura yelled. The ninja began to run towards Sakura, who was guarding Tazuna, and Sasuke sprung into action. Sasuke flung a kunai at their chain and pinned it to a tree, making them unable to use it. Both of the enemies severed the chain from their gauntlet and began dashing at Tazuna and Sakura again.

Naruto began making handsigns and threw a shuriken at them “Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!” he said as dozens of shuriken appeared from thin air. Being surrounded by shuriken at all directions, the enemy was unable to dodge and they were pierced by multiple kunai in vital spots. Naruto had felt a cold chill after it’d happened. He’d started to come to terms with the fact that he’d actually taken another person’s life. Naruto remembered when Hiruzen told him that taking lives was a part of being a Shinobi. Shinobi battle one another at the highest stakes with their country and their very lives on the line. This is why Shinobi shouldn’t enjoy killing or revel in it, Shinobi should kill if it’s absolutely necessary. Kakashi walked up to his team “Nice job Sasuke and Naruto. You too Sakura.” Kakashi said. “Tazuna, we need to talk.” Kakashi said seriously, as he looked at Tazuna. “Those were the Chunin from Kiri. They are known to continue the fight no matter the costs. I knew they were going to attack us because of that puddle, there shouldn’t be a puddle like that on a sunny day like this, and when it hadn’t rained in days.” Kakashi said.

“Then why’d you let the kids fight?” Tazuna asked. “I could’ve killed them quickly, but I needed to find out who these two were after.” Kakashi said, eyeing Tazuna. “What do you mean?” Tazuna asked, feigning ignorance. “I mean, were they after you, or one of us. According to the mission, we were just obligated to protect you from thieves, gangs, and highwaymen. We haven’t heard anything of Shinobi after you. This is now beyond the scope of our original mission, it’s become a B-rank mission. This was supposed to be simple protection until you completed the bridge. If we’d known that ninja were after you, this mission would’ve been a B-rank mission from the start, which is more expensive. That’s probably why you did it.” Kakashi accused. “That’s true, the Land of Waves is a very poor country. We couldn’t afford to pay the costs of a B-ranked mission. But if you don’t complete this mission, I’ll be dead before I can finish completing the bridge.” Tazuna said seriously.

“Who’s after you?” Kakashi asked. “You’ve probably heard of him. He’s the wealthy shipping magnate, Gato.” Tazuna said. “Gato? From the Gato Corporation? He’s said to be one of the world’s most wealthy people. Why would he be after you?” Kakashi asked. “Yes… officially Gato runs a very large shipping company. But underground he sells drugs and other illegal things. He uses ninja and gang members to take over countries. He’s ruthless and he uses the same cutthroat business strategies for his illegal endeavors. About one year ago, he set his eye on the Land of Waves. He quickly gained control of the countries shipping industry through money and violence. Gato now has a monopoly on all business traffic through the country, as in a country surrounded by water, the one who controls the water controls the country. The only thing he has to fear is the completion of the bridge, which would take away his control of our imports and exports.” Tazuna said.

“I see… so you’re in his way. That’s why he’s after you.” Sakura said as she placed her hand to her chin. “Those ninja must’ve been hired by Gato right?” Naruto asked. “That’s correct.” Tazuna replied. “So that’s why you said you’ll be dead if we didn’t continue this mission. I guess we have no choice, we will protect you at least until you get back to your country.” Kakashi said. Team 7 got on a boat that would take them to the Land of Waves. The had an engine but they were paddling instead, so they could stay under the radar. It was very misty and they were using it as cover. As the mist cleared they saw plenty of vegetation and homes on the water. Once they got to the shore the man who was driving the boat had left. “This is it for me. Good luck with the bridge, and I’ll see you later.” he said as he did. Team 7 began walking through the Land of Waves, heading to Tazuna’s house.

Naruto was thinking about the attackers from before, Kakashi said they were Chunin. They probably wouldn’t send people of Chunin level anymore, now that Team 7 defeated them. They’d be sending Jonin. Naruto was on his guard. As they were walking something came flying through the trees “Get down!” Kakashi yelled out, and everyone ducked as a gigantic sword flew overhead and lodged itself in a tree. Once they’d looked up there was a shirtless man with striped pants and camouflage wrist and hand warmers, he also wore a mask like Kakashi. He was standing on the swords handle and looking at them with contempt. “Well, if it isn’t Zabuza Momochi, the demon of Kirigakure.” Kakashi said. “It seems my fame exceeds me, but you probably have the same problem, Kakashi of the Sharingan.” Zabuza replied. Sasuke was visibly struck by this piece of information. “It seems you even have a remnant of the Uzumaki Clan on your team as well. You have an interesting squad Kakashi.” Zabuza said, looking at Naruto’s red hair. “Everyone get back, this one’s on a whole other level. This’ll be a little tough. Unless I do this…” Kakashi said whilst pulling back his hitai-ate and revealing his Sharingan.

“The old man is mine Kakashi. But if I have to kill you and these brats to get to him, I’ll do it.” Zabuza said seriously. “Focus on protecting Tazuna, don’t enter this fight.” Kakashi ordered. Team 7 quickly jumped in front of Tazuna with Naruto in front and Sakura and Sasuke at his side.“Zabuza, fight me!” Kakashi exclaimed. “Heh, when I was a member of Kiri’s Anbu, I remember your Bingo Book entry. This is what it said. The man who’s copied over a thousand jutsu, Copy Ninja Kakashi.” Zabuza said. Team 7 had just now begun to see how famous their sensei is in the ninja world. Sasuke was still looking at Kakashi suspiciously though. “Well, let’s end all the chatting. I have to kill the old man, but like I said before, if I have to beat you first, so be it.” Zabuza threatened. Zabuza quickly pulled his sword from the tree and jumped into the nearby water source and made a handsign. “Hidden Mist Jutsu.” he whispered as the mist began to thicken until Zabuza was invisible. “He’s gone!” Sakura yelled. “He’ll come for me first. He’s an expert of silent killing, you won’t notice him until you’re in the next world. Be on your toes.” Kakashi ordered. “There are seven choices. Liver, lungs, neck, brain, kidneys, heart… Which should I go after?” Zabuza said menacingly. Naruto and the rest of Team 7 had begun to feel incredible killing intent. Naruto, through all his training, hadn’t felt anything like this. He wasn’t prepared for it. “This is the real part of being a Shinobi… don’t let it get to you Naruto!” Naruto told himself, trying to calm down.

Naruto looked over and saw Sasuke taking the killing intent harder than him, he had a distraught look on his face. He even pulled out one of his kunai. “Sasuke, no need to worry. I’ll protect you all even if it kills me. I won’t let my comrades die.” Kakashi said as he smiled at Sasuke. Suddenly, Zabuza was in between them all and he toppled almost everyone besides Kakashi. Kakashi quickly stabbed him with a kunai but from the mist a clone appeared behind Kakashi. “Sensei, watch out!” Naruto yelled as Zabuza bisected Kakashi, but he vanished into drops of water. He quickly appeared behind Zabuza with a Kunai to his neck “It’s over!” Kakashi declared. “You’ll never defeat me with mere imitations.” Zabuza sneered as he turned into water and appeared behind Kakashi, swinging his huge blade at Kakashi. Kakashi narrowly dodged it, but once he did Zabuza kicked him into the nearby water. Zabuza quickly got behind Kakashi, who was trying to force himself out of the water. Zabuza began making familiar handsigns “Water Prison Jutsu!” he yelled as a orb of water manifested where Kakashi was and the Jonin was trapped.

“You’re now in my Water Prison, now that you can’t move I’ll begin picking your brats off.” he said as he made a handsign “Water Clone Jutsu!” he said as a clone appeared from the water. “You brats wear forehead protectors and pretend to be real ninjas. But a real ninja is someone who’s survived multiple brushes with death, and came out victorious. You all don’t deserve to be calling yourselves ninja. Not yet.” Zabuza declared. Naruto stood up tall. “Tazuna, can I leave your side for a moment?” Naruto asked. “Fine, I won’t be as selfish to stop you from fighting. Go ahead.” he said and Naruto smirked.

“What are you planning Naruto? Be careful… this is an experienced Jonin.” Kakashi warned. “I know my experience pales in comparison to his Sensei. You didn’t have to remind me of that.” Naruto said. “Sasuke, lend me your fire.” Naruto said. Sasuke smirked as he stepped up. “Fine, this better work, Naruto.” he said, whilst making handsigns. “Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!” Sasuke said as he sent a huge fireball at Zabuza’s real body. While it was soaring in the air, Naruto made handsigns of his own. “Wind Release: Air Bullets!” he yelled as he exhaled a flurry of air bullets. They collided with Sasuke’s Fireball to make much smaller, wind powered fire bullets. When they were about to collide with Zabuza he jumped, and Naruto smirked as the clone he’d transformed into a fiery air bullet dropped their transformation and began making handsigns “Water Release: Water Shuriken!” the clone yelled as it manifested several water shuriken and threw them all at Zabuza. Zabuza was unable to dodge them without releasing the water prison so he released it, freeing Kakashi.

Soon as he released his Water Prison, he quickly focused on Kakashi swinging his blade in a downward arc but Kakashi blocked it. “Good plan Naruto and Sasuke. It seems you guys have grown.” Kakashi praised. “Whatever, I just got distracted and released my jutsu.” Zabuza lied. “Wrong, you were forced to release it.” Kakashi told him. “I won’t fall for the same jutsu twice Zabuza, what will you do?” Kakashi mocked. Both of them dashed backwards and began running through handsigns rapidly and once they finished, both of them yelled “Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!” and twin water dragon’s rose from the lake they were standing on. They began battling each other, and Naruto’s clone that was in the water disappeared. After their dragon’s clashed, a large upstream was created and Kakashi and Zabuza fought under it, engaging in a quick Taijutsu bout where there was no clear winner.

Both of them both dashed away from each other and Zabuza began taunting Kakashi “You’re just copying me Kakashi, you won’t beat me that way.” Zabuza said, making handsigns. “You can’t beat me you copycat!” Zabuza and Kakashi said at the same time. “He’s playing mind games with him” Sasuke said. “I’ll make sure you’ll never be able to open your mouth again!” Zabuza said as he continued making handsigns. Kakashi finished his handsigns first and he yelled “Water Release: Great Waterfall Jutsu!” and as he said it he created a gigantic water vortex that battered Zabuza, pushing him into some nearby trees, and creating wind pressure that Team 7 had to brace themselves for. As Zabuza flew into the tree, Kakashi didn’t waste time accurately throwing kunai at him, inning him to the tree. “It’s over” Kakashi said, from a branch on the tree that Zabuza was pinned to. “C-can you see the future?” Zabuza asked. “Yes I can, and your future is death…” Kakashi said, clutching a kunai and preparing to deliver the final blow. Before he could, senbon were accurately thrown through the air and they’d pierced Zabuza in the neck, making him fall from the tree.

A young ninja appeared in a tree next to the tree Kakahsi was sitting on and he had on a Hunter-nin mask withKiri’s symbol on it. “You’re right, he’s dead.” the man said. Naruto was wondering where this man had come from, and if he’d been watching their fight the whole time. “Thank you, I’ve been looking for an opportunity to kill Zabuza for a long time.” he said as he bowed slightly. “You’re one of Kiri’s Hunter-nin aren’t you?” Kakashi asked as he went to go check Zabuza’s corpse. It appeared that Zabuza was indeed dead. “You seemed to be well informed, you’re correct.” he said. “Hunter-nin?” Sakura questioned. “Hunter-nin’s track down missing-nins from their village. They’re supposed to kill the rouge ninja and dispose of their bodies.” Naruto informed his team. He’d known because Hiruzen made sure to drill most aspects of the ninja world into Naruto.

“Your battle is over now, I’m heading to dispose of the body, since it seems to be a body with a lot of secrets.” he said, as he Body Flicker’d from the tree to Zabuza. He then picked up Zabuza and threw him over his shoulder. Naruto then thought back to what Hiruzen had told him about Hunter-nin’s. He’d said they tracked rouge ninja’s and destroyed their bodies. But then why would this Hunter-nin go out of his way to pick up Zabuza’s heavy body? The only real answer is that he must be saving Zabuza! “Hey Hunter-nin. Destroy the body right here instead. I want to make sure he’s dead.” Naruto said. The Hunter-nin frantically collected Zabuza’s body and Body Flicker’d away. “So it seems that he was saving Zabuza after all…” Kakashi said.

“What do you mean?” Sakura asked, but before Kakashi could answer he passed out. “He must’ve overused his Sharingan. His body isn’t equipped to handle the strain of the Sharingan since he isn’t an Uchiha.” Sasuke explained. “Well you all can come over to my house so he can recover.” Tazuna said. Naruto picked Kakashi up and threw him over his shoulder. “Alright, that’s fine.” Naruto said. After a short while they arrived at Tazuna’s home. Once they’d gotten there and settled in, Sakura began asking him about what happened earlier. “Why did you ask him to destroy the body on the spot? Why did he run away?” she asked. “I asked him to destroy the body right there because his actions didn’t make sense to me. Hunter-nin’s usually will track and kill rouge ninja to destroy their bodies. But this hunter-nin, bothered to pick Zabuza up, and cart him off to somewhere. Besides, look at the weapons he used, he used Senbon. Those usually aren’t too lethal. The biggest reason I noticed that he wasn’t a true hunter-nin is that he bothered to pick Zabuza’s heavy body up. Why would he go to such lengths? It would make more sense to destroy the body on the spot, so I came to the conclusion that he was trying to save Zabuza.” Naruto explained.

Kakashi sat up in his bed. “You’re exactly right. If he were innocent he wouldn’t have ran, he would’ve just destroyed the body on the spot. We have to prepare for Zabuza again, it will take him a while to recover, he was damaged badly. While I’m still recovering, I’ll train you all.” Kakashi said. Sakura was visibly surprised. “Train us? Why? What could we hope to do against Zabuza?” she asked. “Remember if it weren’t for Naruto and Sasuke, I might not be here talking to you. You guys are improving rapidly. But this is just training until I get better, you guys won’t be able to defeat him without me.” Kakashi said. “But Sensei, since Zabuza is alive he could just attack us at any time couldn’t he?” Sakura asked. “No. Most likely Zabuza was just put into a momentary death. It should take him awhile before his body returns to normal.” Kakashi said. “Training should be fun. I’m excited.” Naruto said.

“Well don’t be!” a voice said. Naruto looked over and he saw a child. He was wearing overalls and a striped bucket hat. “Inari don’t be rude! Say hi to these nice people. They are ninja who protected your grandpa.” Tsunami, Tazuna’s daughter said. “But mom… they’re going to die.” Inari replied. “Why do you say that?” Naruto asked. “There’s no way you can win against Gato, he’s too strong.” Inari said, putting his head down. “Nobody’s too strong. I’ll be the Hokage one day, I’ll be sure to protect your granddad.” Naruto declared. “What are you, stupid? Just leave if you don’t want to die…” Inari said as he turned away from them. “Where are you going Inari?” Tazuna asked. “I’m going to my room to look at the ocean.” Inari replied as he walked to his room. “We’re sorry for his behavior.” Tsunami said.

“Let’s start our training, go outside to the nearby woods. I’ll be behind you all.” Kakashi ordered. Team 7 complied and they went to the woods. A few minutes later, Kakashi came to the woods. He’d had crutches to assist his walking as he still couldn’t move well. “Okay now we’ll start this training. Your first lesson will be to learn about chakra control.” Kakashi said. “Chakra control? We can already use ninjutsu.” Sasuke said. “But you guys aren’t using ninjutsu efficiently. Even if you are able to release a high amount of chakra, if you can’t control it properly you aren’t using your jutsu at 100 percent efficiency. You’ll essentially be wasting energy and you won’t be able to fight as long.” Kakashi lectured. “To become more efficient you all can learn how to control your chakra through training.” Kakashi said. “So what will we be doing?” Sasuke asked. “Tree climbing!” Kakashi replied.

“Sensei, I can already tree walk.” Naruto said. “Well you can be the one to demonstrate to the others.” Kakashi replied. Naruto sent his chakra to his feet and began walking up a nearby tree with his hands in his pockets, he walked all the way up the tree. “I can water walk as well.” Naruto said, as Sasuke’s eye’s narrowed. “I’m falling behind.” Sasuke thought. “So how do you do it Kakashi?” Sasuke asked. “You gather your chakra in the bottom of your feet and climb up a tree. Once you’re able to do this, your jutsu will become more efficient as you’ll be able to control chakra better.” Kakashi said as he threw two kunai at Sakura and Sasuke’s feet. “Use these kunai to mark how high you make it up the tree, then try to surpass that mark. Since you both are new to this, it’ll be easier to start with a run to gain some momentum.

Sasuke picked up his kunai and ran up the tree and he marked his spot about mid-way as he jumped off. He’d put too much chakra to his feet and he ended up cracking the wood. Sakura tried and she successfully walked up the tree on her first attempt. She sat on the top branch and stuck out her lounge. “Nice job Sakura. It took me a lot of tries to be able to do that.” Naruto encouraged her. “It seems like Sakura is a natural. Not only does she know a lot about chakra, she’s pretty adept at controlling it as well. I guess the Uchiha Clan isn’t worth much these days…” Kakashi taunted and Sasuke sneered. “Shut up Sensei!” Sakura yelled. “Sakura, keep going until it feels like walking to you. If you finish quickly, I’ll teach you something else.” Kakashi said. “Really?” Sakura’s eyes lit up. “Really.” Kakashi assured her. “Naruto, you go guard the bridge builder.” Kakashi ordered. “Alright.” Naruto complied as he went to go guard the bridge.

After a while, Sakura had gotten very good at climbing trees and she was able to do it while exerting minimal chakra. “Alright Sakura, come here. I’ll teach you something now.” Kakashi ordered. Sakura walked over from where she and Sasuke were training and came to Kakashi. “I’m going to teach you a genjutsu. You have an affinity for it.” Kakashi told her. “Genjutsu?” Sakura asked. “Yes, genjutsu requires both acute chakra control in order to manipulate the target’s senses and advanced intellect to make their illusions convincing. You are someone who fits both of those criteria Sakura.” Kakashi said. “So you think I’ll be able to use genjutsu that will be convincing?” Sakura asked. “Yes, after some training you should be able to make convincing genjutsu. Let’s begin with your training.” Kakashi said.

After Tazuna finished his work for that day, Team 7 met at Tazuna’s home for dinner. “It’s been a long time since we’ve eaten with so many people. It makes me smile to see that we have a full house.” Tsunami said. Naruto and Sasuke were both scarfing down food like they’d never eaten before. Sakura noticed something that was on the wall, a torn picture. “Hey guys, why do you all have a torn picture on the wall? It seems like Inari was looking at it during dinner, did someone purposely remove the person in the picture?” Sakura questioned. Tsunami, Inari and Tazuna all exchanged looks. “It’s my husband…” Tsunami said lowly. “He was the man known as the hero of this city.” Tazuna said. Inari’s face had turned red and he had a cold look on his face. He left the table and went to his room and slammed the door as he did. “Dad, I told you not to talk about him in front of Inari!” Tsunami exclaimed. “Well they deserve some type of explanation for Inari’s behavior don’t they?” Tazuna said, and his daughter didn’t continue to argue.

“Inari had a father, not related by blood. They were very close, blood couldn’t make them any closer than they already were. Inari smiled and laughed much more back then. But Inari changed… because of that incident with his father.” Tazuna said lowly. “His father, was a man named Kaiza. He was known as a hero of this land. Inari came to know him after he almost died, trying to save his dog. Kaiza saved him, taught him to choose a life of no regrets, to protect what he’d loved with his own hands. He and Inari had become very close after he’d saved Inari. He and Kaiza were inseparable, like a real father and son. Then he’d came to be apart of the family. But Kaiza was also a man that the city needed…” Tazuna started.

“One day there was a terrible flood that threatened to overflow the dams, one of the city’s areas were going to be flooded. Kaiza swam in the rapids and tied a rope to the flood gates and pulled them closed, saving the city. That was when Kaiza had become known as a hero in this city, and Inari was so proud of his father… but then Gato came to this city.” Tazuna said. “What happened when Gato came?” Kakashi asked. “Kaiza was put to death by Gato in front of everyone.” Tazuna said as he begun shaking. It was obviously hard for him to tell them the story, but he persisted. “Gato said that Kaiza had been conducting terrorist activities against Gato Corporation. They said that he was disrupting the country’s peace and his punishment was death…” Tazuna said as he took a drink of his liquor. “They’d beat him, cut his arms off and tied him to a wooden stake. Inari had to watch his father who he’d thought to be invincible… die. It broke Inari’s heart, and from that day Inari changed. He didn’t believe in anything anymore, and neither did the city.” Tazuna said lowly.

Naruto quickly slid his chair back and stood up. “I’m going to talk to Inari.” Naruto said, as he walked over to Inari’s room and found him crying. “Inari, crying won’t bring Kaiza back.” Naruto said. “What do you know huh?! You guys are always training and laughing. You’ve had an easy life! You’ve never experienced any hardship at all!” Inari yelled. “That’s where you’re wrong…” Naruto turned dead serious. “My mother and father died, protecting my village. They sealed a beast in me, the that destroyed the village and killed my parents. For a long time, I had no friends, no family. I was all alone. So keep crying like you’re the only one with a bad life! At least you’ve had a family that loves you and takes care of you, that’s better than I ever had!” Naruto walked out of Inari’s room and joined the others back at the table.

Halfway through the week, Sasuke learned how to tree walk, and began defending Tazuna and the other bridge builders along with Naruto. Kakashi was still training Sakura in Genjutsu and once the week ended, Kakashi was back at full strength. He tested this by doing push-ups with just a finger. “I wanted to ask you earlier but why are you still here when I lied to you guys about the mission.” Tazuna asked. “To abandon your duty is not courageous. Below the courageous, there is nothing. That’s a quote from the Yondaime Hokage.” Kakashi quoted. “My father said that?” Naruto asked. “Yes. Yondaime was an excellent Shinobi and an even greater man. If you ever want to hear any stories about him you can always ask me.” Kakashi said. “Thank you Sensei, I’ll take you up on that sometime.” Naruto replied. “Naruto, before we go to the bridge, leave a Shadow Clone here just in case.” Kakashi said. Naruto made a handsign and a Shadow Clone appeared. “Alright, let’s head out now.” Kakashi ordered. Team 7 began heading for the bridge.

Once Tazuna and Team 7 got to the bridge they found the bridge builders writhing in pain on the ground. Tazuna quickly walked up to one and sat him up. “What happened here?” he asked. “It’s a d-demon!” he said, as the mist began to thicken. Team 7 took up their position around Tazuna and began to guard him. “Here they come, be ready.” Kakashi ordered. “Heh, I see you still have those brats with you. One of them is even shaking… poor kid.” Zabuza mocked, as 10 water clones surrounded them from the mist. “Sasuke, handle them.” Kakashi said, and Sasuke began annihilating all of the Water Clones, leaving only water surrounding them. “It seems your brat has grown, you may have a rival Haku.” Zabuza said. “It appears so…” Haku replied, he was standing right next to Zabuz and they were looking directly at Team 7. “I knew he was a friend of Zabuza’s, there was no way he wasn’t.” Naruto said. “I’ll fight him!” Sasuke stepped up. “No need to fight alone, that’s why I’m also here.” Naruto said as he stepped up as well. “Impressive, he took out your Water Clones even though they only have a tenth of the strength of the original. But we have the advantage.” Haku said, as he made a handsign and appeared in front of Sasuke. Sasuke clashed with Haku, kunai to senbon “I don’t want to have to kill you… stand down.” Haku said. “Don’t be foolish.” Sasuke smirked. Haku began making handsigns with his free hand and stomped on the ground “Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!” he yelled and senbon were created from the water released by the Water Clones. They were pointed at Sasuke and Naruto and they both used a chakra enhanced jump to escape the needles. Naruto and Sasuke began raining down shuriken at Haku and he jumped away to avoid them and both Naruto and Sasuke quickly got behind him. Both of them kicked Haku simultaneously and he flew backwards and both Naruto and Sasuke smiled.

“Don’t underestimate my team by calling them brats. Sasuke and Naruto are both Konoha’s number 1 rookies, and Sakura is the brightest Kunoichi in the village.” Kakashi stated. “Haku… don’t allow them to drive you back. It’s time to go on the offensive now.” Zabuza ordered. A chill was felt in the air and Haku replied “Yeah… you’re right.” he said as he made a handsign and said “Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals” as he created Ice Mirrors that surrounded Sasuke and Naruto. Haku walked into one of the ice mirrors and his image was reflected on all of them. Kakashi immediately tried to run over to help them and he was stopped by Zabuza. “Let your brats fight, and remember that I’m your opponent.” Zabuza said darkly. Haku began throwing a flurry of senbon at them from all directions that they weren’t able to dodge and once his attack was finished Sasuke and Naruto had minor cuts all over their body. “Darn, he’s attacking from all directions. I can’t keep up with it.” Naruto said. Sasuke began making handsigns and yelled “Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!” as he exhaled a huge stream of fire at the mirrors, in an attempt to melt them. The mirrors didn’t even budge. “Fire attacks at that level won’t work against these ice mirrors.” Haku said. “This has to be a Kekkei Genkai. If it is, it’ll make this fight much harder for us to win… but I doubt he can keep this jutsu up for long. It has to exhaust a lot of his chakra.” Naruto deduced.

Naruto began making handsigns “Adamantine Attacking Chains!” he yelled as he manifested four chakra chains. Zabuza and Kakashi paused their fight temporarily once they’d noticed Naruto using his chains. “That Uzumaki brat… he might be more dangerous than I thought.” Zabuza said. “Naruto, you can use Kushina’s…” Kakashi trailed off. Naruto smirked as he jumped up and began lashing out on the ice mirrors with his chains. For the first time, they’d begun taking damage and they started cracking. “This is dangerous, I have to end this.” Haku said. He began targeting Sasuke with a barrage of senbon, but Sasuke was reacting to them better, he was getting hit less. Naruto noticed this as well “Sasuke, his movements are getting slower, but I still can’t keep up with them. Tell me when he’s switching mirrors, then we can get him.” Naruto said. Sasuke smirked and once Naruto looked at him he’d noticed something, Sasuke had unlocked his Sharingan. “Sasuke… your eyes. You have the Sharingan like Kakashi Sensei!” Sakura said.

Haku resumed attacking once more, and Naruto kept up his relentless assault on Haku’s mirrors, destroying one of them. Sasuke then noticed Haku moving to the mirror above them. “Above you Naruto!” Sasuke yelled. “Right!” Naruto replied as he reached out with his chains and almost grabbed Haku’s leg as he faded into the ice mirror. “I almost had him, I need to be quicker!” Naruto exclaimed. Haku began quickly moving from mirror to mirror and unleashing a volley of senbon. Naruto used his chains to defend himself and Sasuke was able avoid most of them by using his Sharingan. Haku then appeared to a mirror behind them and Sasuke called it out “Behind us!” he yelled. Naruto turned around and stretched his chains and wrapped them around one of Haku’s hands. Naruto quickly withdrew his chains, pulling Haku from the mirror and Naruto wrapped Haku in his chains. Haku’s ice mirrors crumbled as he was wrapped in the chains. “Kill me… I can no longer be the weapon that Zabuza needs. I no longer have a reason to survive.” Haku said lowly.

“There’s no reason to kill you, this fight is over.” Naruto said, looking over to Kakashi and Zabuza’s fight. Kakashi had summoned his pack of ninja hounds and they sunk their fangs into him, keeping him in place. Kakashi begun to make handsigns and lightning began gathering to the Jonin’s hand. “Lightning Blade!” Kakashi yelled. “L-let me out! I have to protect Zabuza! Please let me out!” Haku pleaded. Naruto didn’t listen to his pleads and allowed what was happening to take place. Kakashi began running to Zabuza and he thrust his hand through Zabuza’s chest, splattering blood on Kakashi’s face as he did it. “Noo!” Haku cried out. “I-I couldn’t protect him! I couldn’t fulfill my purpose!” he yelled. All went quiet for a while until they all heard a cane hit the ground twice. “Lookie here… Zabuza got his ass kicked and he even died.” Gato laughed, he had a bunch of thugs behind him.“What are you doing here Gato?” Haku asked. “Oh it seems like even Haku here lost. I’ll take pleasure in killing you, since you broke my hand back there. Also, I hope you know I never intended to pay any of you.” Gato said. “So you’re saying that Zabuza died for _nothing_?” Haku yelled. “Yup, see I hire missing-nin because nobody cares about them, and after they accomplish the job I can just kill them off with sheer numbers. We can kill you off easily!” Gato exclaimed.

“Let me go… I promise I won’t be a danger to you and I’ll do whatever you want after, but I have to take care of this trash!” Haku said darkly. Naruto nodded, and withdrew his chains and allowed Haku to walk free. Haku created an ice mirror and walked into it and an ice mirror appeared behind Gato and Haku grabbed him by the neck and jabbed a senbon into his throat. “Don’t speak about Zabuza anymore!” he exclaimed and Gato fell into the water, dead. Haku then used his ice mirror to go back to where Naruto and Sasuke were. “Thank you… I’m no longer your enemy.” Haku said and everyone calmed down a little. “Is everyone alright?” Kakashi asked. “Yeah, we’re all fine here. Haku’s no longer a threat.” Naruto replied.

“Hey! You guys are too relaxed! We’re still here!” The thugs yelled. At the other side of the bridge Inari arrived, leading the population of the city. They all wielder crossbows and they looked ready to fight. “If you come any further into our island, the citizens of this country will give you everything we’ve got!” Inari yelled. “Inari!” Naruto yelled. Naruto made a handsign and yelled “Shadow Clone Jutsu!” and he created dozens of Shadow Clones. Kakashi did the same and the thugs responded by running away. Haku walked up to Zabuza’s corpse and laid a hand on his face. “I couldn’t protect you… it’s something I’ll regret for the rest of my life. Now that you’re gone, I won’t know what to do again.” Haku said, walking over to Tazuna. “I’m sorry for my actions towards you bridge builder. You don’t have to forgive me, but know I am sorry.” Haku apologized. Kakashi walked over to Haku “You can always come back with us to Konoha. It’ll take some time, but you might be able to join the Konoha ninja core.” Kakashi said. “I’ll come to Konoha with you all. I’ll face up to any punishments or whatever you guys have for me.” Haku said, as he walked over to Kubikiribocho. “You wouldn’t want me to leave his treasured Kubikiribocho here, would you Zabuza? I’ll take up your blade.” Haku said as he picked it up.

After a couple of weeks, Tazuna finished completing the bridge and Team 7 along with Haku set up a grave for Zabuza in front of a big tree in the forest. Haku had picked out some flowers to put on his grave. Haku cried as he finished laying the flowers for Zabuza. “I know… you weren’t a great person, and the things we did were wrong. But you were the first person to acknowledge me, to give me a reason to exist. For that I thank you… goodbye Zabuza.” Haku said sadly. Team 7 and Haku met at the bridge one last time before Team 7 were leaving. “Thanks to you, we’ve completed the bridge, but it’s bitter sweet.” Tazuna said. “Thank you for everything.” Kakashi replied. Naruto walked over to Inari and ruffled up his hair “You’ve become a true hero, Inari. Continue for fight for everything you believe in.” Naruto said. Inari began to tear up and as he did he wiped his eyes. “It’s okay to cry Inari.” Naruto said. “I’m sorry for all the pain I’ve caused you people, sincerely.” Haku apologized. Team 7 and Haku then began leaving the Land of Waves to return to Konoha.


	4. Start of the Chunin Exams

Once they’d returned to Konoha, Kakashi immediately went to Sandaime’s office to give the mission report and to bring Haku to him. Kakashi told them that Sandaime had set Haku up with a place to live in the village. In a couple of weeks Sandaime would be testing Haku’s level of strength to see what rank he’d place him in the ninja core. The Jonin council agreed to let Haku be inducted in the ninja core, with Kakashi spearheading the effort. The rest of the council was excited to know that Konoha had gained a new Kekkei Genkai and the fact that Haku was a boy meant that he would be able to continue his clan in Konoha, which drove their decision. Two weeks had passed and Team 7 had completed a variety of missions, but none of them were as significant or as difficult as their mission in the Land of Waves. Haku had been tested and he’d been granted the rank of a Chunin.

Naruto had finished his training for the day. He’d been focusing on mastering his mother’s Adamantine Sealing Chains. After he’d finished his training he began walking through the village and he found his team standing off against a squad of Suna ninja. Sasuke and Sakura were face to face with three Suna ninja. One of them was a boy with red hair and sleepless eyes. The other was a boy who wore black and had face paint on his face, the last was a blonde-haired kunoichi. “What are you guys doing in our village?” Sasuke asked. “Heh, don’t you know anything? We’ve come here for the Chunin Exams.” The blonde-haired Suna Kunoichi said. “Chunin Exams?” Sakura asked. “The Chunin Exams is a system set in place by the Second Hokage. It gives the opportunity for Genin to be promoted to Chunin and it’s held openly, to improve the relationships between villages and to raise the level of Shinobi.” Naruto explained. “That’s right.” she confirmed. “Hey you, with the gourd. What’s your name?” Sasuke asked. “My name is Gaara. I was also interested in your name?” he said lowly. “It’s Sasuke Uchiha.” Sasuke said and they glared at each other for a while. _Something must’ve happened between them_. Naruto thought, but he didn’t know what happened before he’d gotten there. Gaara made a handsign and he vanished as well as his team. “So it seems like the Chunin Exams are happening here in Konoha this year. I wonder if Kakashi Sensei registered us?” Naruto asked.

Little did Team 7 know that there were two teams observing them from the trees. Dosu’s team, and a team of Iwa Genin. “So that’s the son of the Yondaime Hokage… he looks just like him, he just has red hair and whiskers.” one of them said. He had messy jet-black hair with sharp eyes. He wore a brown Iwa flak jacket with shoulder padsand a red sweater under it, but he had one of the sleeves cut off, revealing toned arms wrapped up with gauze, his name was Kaori and he was the grandson of the Third Tsuchikage and a descendant of the First. His two teammates wore outfits similar to his, but with both of the sleeves and without the shoulder pads. One of them was a stockier male who had brown hair and stern features. The other was a girl who had a Tanto on her back Her outfit was different from the other’s as she had fishnet tights on both of her legs and her sleeves to her sweater were longer. She had black hair that she wore in a pixie cut. “He’s not a bad looking boy… shame we’ll have to kill him.” she said. “Don’t let that distract you from the mission Rei.” the stockier one said. “Of course not, Roku.” she replied.

Naruto and Team 7 had a meeting with Kakashi the next day and in typical fashion, Kakashi was late. “Good morning people!” Kakashi exclaimed. “You’re late!” Sakura yelled. “Well today I got lost on the road of life…” Kakashi gave one of his usual excuses. “Anyways… I nominated you guys for the Chunin Exams.” Kakashi said. “You did? It’s about time I become a Chunin.” Naruto announced. Kakashi then handed them the registration forms. “This is just a nomination, whether you take the exam is up to you. If you wish to take it, you should sign the papers and turn them in at room 301 in the academy building by 4pm tomorrow.” Kakashi said as he made a handsign and vanished. Sasuke smirked, he was probably imagining the prospects of fighting those guys from earlier. Sakura was reasonably scared, but she was feeling more confident than usual thanks to the genjutsu training that Kakashi had given her. Naruto had full confidence in himself that he would be able to pass.

The next day Team 7 went to the academy to turn their papers in. They’d walked up a flight of stairs to see someone kicking a ninja. The ninja had a bowl cut and he wore a green jumpsuit with a hitai-ate tied around his waist. “You plan to take the Chunin Exams and you’re this weak? You should quit while you’re ahead.” the kid who was kicking him around sneered. “Please just let us through…” a girl pleaded. She seemed to be on the same team as the kid with the bowl cut. The older kid merely kicked her aside in response and varied responses were heard in the room. Sakura stepped up “Instead of kicking this girl around, you should remove the False Surroundings Genjutsu over this room. This is only the second floor, not the third.” Sakura said, gesturing to the sign on the door that read 301.

Both Naruto and Sasuke’s eyes widened as Sakura finished talking. “So it seems that you’ve noticed, not bad…” the spiky haired older kid said. He then aimed a kick at Sakura and Sasuke quickly got in Sakura’s path and aimed his own kick at him. The ninja with the bowl cut quickly jumped up and blocked both of their kicks. “What happened to the plan Lee? You the one who said that we shouldn’t draw attention to ourselves.” a ninja with pale lavender eyes stated. “Well…” Lee scratched his head. He then began walking over to Sakura and the rest of team. “My name is Rock Lee, and yours?” he asked. “My name’s Sakura.” she said. “I thought what you did took a lot of strength.” Lee declared. “Thank you.” Sakura replied.

The pale lavender eyes began walking over to Naruto and Sasuke and upon looking closely at him, Naruto realized that he was a Hyuga. “You both… what are your names?” he asked. “Naruto Uzumaki!” Naruto declared, and Sasuke was more mysterious “When you want to learn someone’s name you should give yours first.” Sasuke said. “His name’s Sasuke Uchiha… no need for the mystery.” Naruto laughed. “You’re a Hyuga right?” Naruto guessed. “You’re right. I’m Neji Hyuga.” Neji said. Team 7 then began walking to the next room in order to turn in their forms and they were stopped by Rock Lee. “Uchiha! Fight me.” he demanded.

_I’m skipping this fight, we all know Sasuke loses and get humiliated pretty badly by Lee. _

Once they’d walked into the examination room Team 7 was reunited with their old classmates. “Ino, Shikamaru, Choji! It’s been too long.” Naruto said. “Hey Naruto.” Shikamaru replied. Choji and Shikamaru began making small talk with Naruto but Ino jumped on Sasuke and hugged him from behind. “It’s been too long Sasuke-kun.” She said. “Get away from Sasuke, Ino Pig!” Sakura yelled. “It seems that your Jonin Sensei dragged you all into this too? How annoying.” Shikamaru complained. “H-hello Naruto.” Hinata murmured. “Hey Hinata.” Naruto replied. Kiba and Shino walked towards the rest of the rookies. “It seems like everyone is here eh?” Kiba said, and Akamaru barked from the top of his head. “You rookies are so lively…” a voice rang out. Naruto turned around to see a man with silver hair pulled into a ponytail. He had circular shaped glasses and wore a Konoha hitai-ate. “I’m Kabuto, but you all shouldn’t worry about me… instead, look behind you.” Kabuto gestured to all of the ninja behind him. They were looking at the rookies like they were their next meal.

“All these guys have short tempers, so try to tone it down. But I can’t blame you, can I? You’re all just clueless rookies, you remind me of how I used to be.” Kabuto said. “Well some of us aren’t as clueless as people think.” Naruto said as he began tuning Kabuto out. He didn’t like people who thought they were better than others. Kabuto and Sasuke began talking and Kabuto pulled out some cards and Naruto began to perk up when Sasuke asked about info on specific individuals. “Yes, I do have info on specific individuals… are you worried about someone?” Kabuto asked. “I wouldn’t say worried… I just want to see what they’re made of. Show me info on Rock Lee of Konoha and Gaara from Suna.” Sasuke said. Kabuto began listing off information about both of the ninja and Naruto’s suspicions were piqued. _How does he have this much information about these people? Could he have information on me?_ Naruto wondered. He decided that he’d watch Kabuto very closely.

In the crowd, people began moving and three figures jumped out and landed in front of Naruto. One of them dashed at Naruto and took a swipe at him with her Tanto, but Naruto skillfully blocked it with a kunai. Two enemies were dashing at him from opposite sides and Naruto made a handsign and created two Shadow Clones to guard his flanks but paused when a dozen Chunin and Ibiki appeared in the front of the room. “Seems that you all couldn’t wait patiently. There will be no fighting without the permission of the examiners.” Ibiki ordered. “You okay Naruto? Who were those guys?” Sakura asked in a concerned tone. “I’m fine, I have no idea who those guys were.” he replied. “Whatever, we’ll finish where we left off later…” Kaori sneered. Both of Naruto’s clones disappeared as Ibiki began talking “We’re going to start the first test of the Chunin Exams. Instead of sitting where you all are now, we’ll randomly assign you all seats based off number, then we’ll hand out the exams. _So it’s a paper test it seems, we should do fine. The thing I want to know is, who are those Iwa nin that attacked me?” _Naruto thought.

Naruto was assigned seat number 53 and he was sitting near Hinata and some others that he didn’t know. He was weary of the sharp-eyed Iwa nin who was sitting three rows behind him. He looked at his desk and his test and pencil were lying at his desk. “Do not turn your tests over, listen to what I’m about to say. There are rules to this test. The first one is that you guys will start off with 10 points. The test is made up of 10 questions, each one is worth a point, but this test uses a subtracting based system, so if you answer all the questions correctly you keep your 10 points. Say you miss three questions… you’ll lose three points. Get it?” Ibiki lectured. “The second rule is that this is a team exam, whether you pass or fail will be determined by the combined score of your teammates. Each team will compete to see how many points they can hold on to from the initial team total of 30.” Ibiki said.

“The third rule is that during the exam, anyone caught by the examiners to be doing suspicious activities, such as being sneaky or cheating… will have two points directly subtracted for every offense. If you lose all of your points, you’ll be asked to leave.” Ibiki smirked. Naruto was confused for a while. Usually if someone cheats they fail immediately, but they are only deducting two points. It seems to be a system that encourages cheating, Naruto realized. “Pathetic ninja who get caught cheating will only be destroying themselves. If you wish to reach the rank of Chunin, be a proud ninja. Also, the final rule… those who lose all their initial points during the test and those who don’t answer any questions correctly, will be failed along with their two teammates.” Ibiki said. Naruto wasn’t worried about his team, both Sasuke and Sakura were sharp, and so was Naruto. They’d likely excel during this exam.

“The exam will last one hour… you may begin!” he ordered and Naruto flipped over his paper. The first question was an incredibly complex cryptogram. Naruto looked at it long and hard and he honestly couldn’t figure out where to start. He looked at the other questions and only found more of the same. “I knew it, this system does encourage cheating. The exam is impossible for a regular genin to pass.” Naruto thought. Naruto looked around and saw a lot of his peers cracking under the pressure of this exam. Naruto grinned as he was happy that he prepared for a situation like this. Once Naruto had finished fighting with those Iwa ninja he’d made his clones seemingly disappear, but in reality, he’d made them transform into dust mites that floated throughout the room. He’d done it in case the Iwa ninja tried to attack him again. One of his transformed clones had eyes on the answers that Sasuke had copied with his Sharingan and Naruto dismissed the clone and got all of the answers. He’d copied them all down and he looked at the last question. “This question will be revealed 45 minutes after the test begins. Listen to the examiner closely before answering.” it read. Naruto leaned back into his chair and relaxed, he’d had plenty of time.

After some time Ibiki spoke up “We will now start the 10th question.” he said. “But before it starts, I’d like to go over the extra rules for this question. For this 10th question, the first hurdle is to decide whether you’ll take it or not.” Ibiki said. “Choose? What if we choose not to?” Temari asked. “Well If you choose not to, your points will be reduced to zero and you’ll fail, along with your teammates.” Ibiki smirked. “Well of course we’ll take it!” Kiba exclaimed. “Well if you choose to take it, and you answer wrong, you’ll never be able to take the Chunin Exams again.” Ibiki warned. “That’s bullshit, there’s talent-less losers who’ve taken this exam more than once.” Kaori called out. “Well you guys were just unlucky, because I’m the proctor this year. But I will give you a way out, those who aren’t confident enough to take it, can quit and try again next year. Now let’s begin the 10th question.” Ibiki said menacingly.

“As I said, if you don’t want to take it, raise your hand, and once your number is confirmed you may leave.” Ibiki said. Multiple people raised their hands and the majority of the teams were taken out. The pressure had gotten to people. Team 7, and the other rookies stood firm, there were some other Konoha teams that were still standing as well. Most of the foreign teams were still standing strong as well. The Iwa, Suna and Oto teams were unmoved the whole time. They weren’t intimidated by Ibiki’s antics. “It seems that there’s no reason to continue this… to everyone still remaining, I congratulate you on passing the first test.” Ibiki said. “What do you mean that we pass? What about the 10th question?” Sakura asked. “There was never a such thing, the choice to take the 10th question was the tenth question.” Ibiki grinned.

“So the other questions were just a waste of time?” Kaori asked. “They were to test your information gathering skills. Chunin are trusted with information all the time. Information in the right hands can be a powerful ally to you and your comrades, or a powerful asset for your enemy that can potentially allow them to gain an advantage over your village. Some information is more important than lives…” Ibiki said as he took off his bandanna to reveal burns, screw holes, and terrible scars on his head. He must’ve been tortured pretty badly. He then placed his bandanna back on. “You have made it through, the first test of the Chunin Exams is finally over. I wish you all luck.” Ibiki said. Suddenly something crashed through the window and a gigantic banner was put up with a smirking woman standing in front of it. “I’m Anko Mitarashi, the examiner for the second test! Follow me!” she demanded then she turned to Ibiki. “It seems that you’ve cut the teams down a little, but I’ll cut them in half for sure.” Anko said. “Come with me, I’ll explain everything once we’ve changed places.” Anko said. The remaining Genin followed Anko to the Forest of Death.

“Welcome to the stage for the second test, Practice Arena 44 otherwise known as… The Forest of Death!” Anko said. As they were waiting around, Naruto spoke to his team. “We have to watch out for those Iwa guys.” Naruto whispered. “Why?” Sakura asked. “You know I’m the son of the Yondaime right? Iwa hated my father the most, they’ll come after me for sure. They’re most likely using the exam as a guise to assassinate me, they’ll be able to get away with it during the exam.” Naruto said. “I’ll keep an eye out for them.” Sasuke said seriously. “These are agreement forms. There will be deaths in this one, and if you don’t sign these it would be my responsibility, and I don’t want to fill out all the paperwork for dead genin. But before you sign, I’ll explain the rules of the second exam.” Anko said. Simply put, you will attempt the ultimate survival. Around the Forest of Death, there are 44 locked gates, a river, forest, and a tower in the center. From the gates to the tower is about 10 kilometers. During the exam be having a no holds barred scroll battle.” Anko said, as she pulled out a light and a dark scroll.   


“Scroll Battle?” Naruto asked. “You will fight over these Heaven and Earth scrolls. Half of the teams will get the heaven scroll, and the other half will get the earth scroll. To pass this exam, your team must make it to the tower in the center of the forest, with both of these scrolls.” Anko said. “So that’s why you said that you’d cut us in half, literally half of us will fail.” Naruto said. “It’ll most likely be more than that. But there’s a time limit, this test will only last 120 hours, or five days.” Anko said. “Five days! What about dinner!” Choji yelled. “You’re on your own, the forest is full of food. Just watch out for the poisonous animals, man-eating beasts, and all the other ninja in the forests. Never mind this, now let’s talk about what will disqualify you.” Anko said. “First, those who don’t make it to the tower in time with both scrolls will fail. Second, those who lose a teammate or who’s teammate has been killed, fail. Third, there’s no quitting in the middle. You _will _be in the forest for five days. Lastly, you mustn’t look inside the scrolls until you make it to the tower, if you do there will be a nice surprise for you.” Anko smirked.

“I see, Chunin are asked to handle classified information. You’re testing if we’re worthy of that.” Naruto deduced. “You’re correct.” Anko replied. “That’s it for the explanations. Exchange the forms for your scrolls, then choose a gate to get ready for the start. A final word… don’t die.” Anko said casually. Naruto walked up to Sasuke and whispered “You take the scroll Sasuke.” Naruto said. Team 7 filled out their application and received a Heaven Scroll, which Sasuke took and put it up. “Alright, everyone follow an instructor and go to your gates, we start in 30 minutes!” Anko exclaimed. Team 7 went to their gate and privately discussed strategy. The time quickly passed and Anko yelled “The Second Test of the Chunin Exams begins!” Team 7 burst through their gate as soon as one of the instructors unlocked it and as they ran Naruto quickly created Shadow Clones and dispersed them through the area.

Team 7 settled near the basin of the river. Naruto figured that water is one of their most important resources and that they should stay close to it. They’d had Sakura set various traps around the area they were near. Suddenly, from two different sides, gigantic rocks closed in, threatening to smash Team 7. It must be Iwa, Naruto thought. Naruto quickly jumped into action and manifested his chains from his back, these chains were much longer than the one’s he’d usually made. Naruto shattered the rocks with his chains, making it rain rocks throughout the area. The Iwa team started walking towards Team 7 Kaori was in the middle and Rei and Roku were at his sides, “We can finally kill you now. Your pathetic Sandaime Hokage can’t protect you here, once we kill you, we’ll just claim it was apart of the exam. Get ready to die Naruto Uzumaki, or should I say… Namikaze?” Kaori sneered. “It’s Naruto Uzumaki, don’t ever forget it!” Naruto replied.

Naruto lunged at Kaori engaging in close combat with him, Naruto had the clear upper hand due to his chains, he was using them to keep Kaori on his toes. But Kaori was quick, when he saw the opening, he kicked Naruto in the chest, sending him flying towards the water. Sasuke covered Naruto’s slack and began making handsigns and yelled “Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!” Sasuke released a flurry of small fireballs and Roku jumped in front of Kaori and slammed his hands on the ground “Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!” he yelled as a giant slab of rock blocked Sasuke’s fireball. Sakura barely managed to block an attack from Rei’s Tanto and she engaged in combat with her. Kaori dashed over to Naruto and began making handsigns “Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!” he said as he breathed fire and manipulated it into the shape of a dragon. Naruto began making handsigns as well “Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!” he said as he created a Water Dragon that beat Kaori’s fire dragon and began coming directly at Kaori.

Kaori jumped into the air and began making handsigns “Lava Release: Scorching Stream Rock Jutsu!” Kaori yelled as he expelled molten lava rocks at Naruto. _Lava Release? These Kekkei Genkai are getting annoying, _Naruto thought. Naruto began making handsigns and yelled “Water Release: Water Formation Wall!” Naruto spit out a stream of water and the water expanded to ferocious wall that stopped the lava rocks on the spot. Kaori began making handsigns and yelled “Lava Release: Lava Golem!” as he opened his mouth and a huge lava golem began to take shape. “Kill him!” Kaori said menacingly and he jumped atop of the Golem’s head. Naruto manifested his chains and began to stab the Golem repeatedly, but it didn’t do much. “You wanna know why I took the mission of killing you? Not just because you’re the son of Iwa’s worst enemy. I did it to seal my position as future Tsuchikage. You see, I’m the grandson of the 3rd Tsuchikage and I am directly related to the 1st Tsuchikage. The position is in my blood. I’ll earn my position by killing you, son of Yondaime!” Kaori said. The Golem punched Naruto, searing his shirt and sending him flying into the river. Naruto made a handsign underwater and dozens of Shadow Clones appeared. They all jumped at the Golem and it took a swipe at it, dispelling a good amount of the clones. The other remaining clones exploded. The explosion had did good damage to the Golem, it destroyed it’s right arm and a big part of it’s torso. Kaori made handsigns and he expelled Lava and fixed his Golem’s arm. “He won’t be destroyed that easily.” Kaori bragged. Naruto extended his chains and wrapped them around the Golem’s leg and tripped it up, making it stumble backwards into the basin of the lake. Naruto looked to see if his teammates were nearby, but they weren’t. Naruto assumed they got caught up in their fight and went deeper into the woods. Naruto hoped they were okay and then he realized he couldn’t afford to be worried about them, he had to worry about the problem facing him. Naruto then made a handsign and created a couple of Shadow Clones and had them make handsigns “Wind Release: Running Wind!” Naruto yelled simultaneously with his clones. He and his clones began running around the basin of the river creating strong winds over the surface of the water, altering the direction of the currents and creating a whirlpool. “Wind and Water Release: Maelstrom!” Naruto yelled. Kaori quickly jumped off of his lava golem as it was sucked underwater.

Kaori began making handsigns and he yelled “Lava Release: Obsidian Blade!” as he exhaled lava that he shaped into a sword. As it began to cool, the sword began to turn black. “I’ll kill you with this!” Kaori sneered. Naruto bit his thumb, drawing blood, and he began running through handsigns “Summoning Jutsu!” he said and Enma appeared. “Kid, what do you need me for?” he asked. “Well, I’m fighting Iwa ninjas with a grudge, the exact thing I was trained for.” Naruto replied. “I see…” Enma said, taking in the situation. “Transform into your staff form for me.” Naruto said and Enma obliged, transforming into his staff form.

Naruto grabbed the staff and ran at Kaori, clashing with his Obsidian Sword. Naruto expanded his staff and swung it at Kaori’s head but he dodged and rolled forward and cut Naruto’s leg with his sword, drawing some blood. Naruto gritted his teeth and swung his staff in a downward arc across Kaori’s chest, as he did Enma sprouted his claws and slashed Kaori’s chest. His eyes widened and he was obviously caught off guard and Naruto didn’t waste any time. He’d launched a kick, using his staff as leverage and his foot flew into Kaori’s chest, kicking him into a tree. Naruto followed up by extending his staff and pushing Kaori further into the forest. Naruto went to go deliver another blow but realized that Kaori had replaced himself with an Earth Clone. Naruto felt a sharp pain in his chest as he’d been stabbed. “Heh, seems like Naruto Namikaze isn’t so tough after all… you shouldn’t have separated us from your teammates. They could’ve at least tried to save you.” Kaori mocked. “I separated us for a reason, I can’t control myself as well as I’d like in this form…” Naruto said darkly as he began using his Kyuubi chakra. Naruto’s canine teeth elongated, his nails began to resemble claws, he began looking much more feral. His whiskers darkened and his eyes turned red and his pupils became slits, he’d also gained a red chakra cloak and a tail. Naruto pushed the blade out of his chest and Kaori’s eyes widened as the wound had already began to heal. “Enma, I don’t need you anymore… thanks.” he said and Enma disappeared.

“Also… I told you. My name is Naruto Uzumaki, not Namikaze.” Naruto growled. Naruto began making handsigns “Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!” he yelled as a huge blast of wind pushed Kaori from where he was standing into a nearby tree. Naruto made a handsign and appeared next to Kaori. “What scroll do you have?” he asked. “Why would I tell y-” Kaori started as Naruto stabbed his hand into the tree with a kunai. Kaori winced, but he didn’t cry out. “I’ll ask you again, what scroll do you have?” Naruto asked lowly. “I still won’t tell you…” Kaori replied. Naruto pointed the Kunai at his neck “Your scroll… or your life! Which one?” Naruto yelled. With Kaori’s free hand he reached into a pouch and grabbed his Earth Scroll and handed it to Naruto. “Here, take it!” he yelled, Naruto quickly pocketed it. Naruto calmed himself down, and stopped using the Kyuubi Cloak.

Naruto heard trees rustling and then Sasuke and Sakura jumped from the trees, landing in front of them. They were pretty fatigued and they had plenty of cuts and bruises, but they’d came out on top it seemed. “The other one’s didn’t have the scroll, does he?” Sasuke asked. “Yes, and it’s just what we need, an Earth Scroll.” Naruto replied. “What did you guys do with his teammates?” Naruto asked. “They retreated after we asked them about their scrolls.” Sakura said. “What are you planning on doing with this guy?” Sasuke asked. “I’m going to let him go. I don’t want to start a war between Iwa and Konoha.” Naruto replied. “That’s the smartest thing you’ve said all day Namikaz-” Kaori started, until Naruto knocked him out.

“Let’s start heading towards the tower, we should leave this place quickly because we probably have some unwanted attention.” Naruto said. Sasuke and Sakura nodded and they began heading towards the tower. It had begun getting darker and darker as the sun was setting, the tower wasn’t in sight yet, but they were closer than they had been. “You guys think we should set up camp?” Sakura asked. “Probably, we’ve been running for a while.” Sasuke replied. Team 7 set up camp near the river and Naruto decided to take the first sentry duty. The next day when they woke up they started gathering fish to cook. Naruto caught the fish, Sakura prepared them to cook, and Sasuke provided the fireball and they ate. As they stood up and prepared to leave a gigantic snake swooped in and tried to take a bite out of them. All three of them jumped and Naruto was wondering if the snake was one of the man eating beasts that Anko mentioned. Then he noticed the person standing atop it’s head. “It can’t be!” Naruto exclaimed. But he couldn’t deny it. It was only one person that he’d known that summoned Snakes. Orochimaru, Hiruzen’s twisted former student. “What’s wrong Naruto?” Sakura asked in a concerned tone. “What are you doing here at the Chunin Exams, Orochimaru?” Naruto questioned.

“Well I guess there’s no use in hiding it anymore. I’m surprised that a mere Genin knows of me, but you’re no mere Genin are you?” Orochimaru said. “What are you talking about?” Naruto asked. “I watched your fight with the Iwa brat. Very impressive, you displayed some high-rank ninjutsu. Ninjutsu that a genin shouldn’t know. In fact, you used a summoning that only one person should know.” Orochimaru hinted. “Let me guess, you were trained by Hiruzen weren’t you?” Orochimaru asked bluntly. “Well I guess there’s no reason in hiding that anymore.” Naruto replied. Naruto looked back at his teammates and noticed they were sweating intensely “What did you do to my friends?” Naruto asked. “They’re seeing visions of their violent deaths.” Orochimaru said cruelly. “Snap out of it!” Naruto yelled, but they still were in a daze.”

“You interest me, son of Yondaime. Perhaps I’ll fight you before I get to the main course.” Orochimaru taunted as his snake lunged at Naruto. Naruto manifested his chains and stabbed them into the snake’s head, killing it instantly. The snake then disappeared in a puff of smoke “Even Kushina’s chains eh?It seems that Hiruzen has trained you well. What else can you do?” Orochimaru asked as he dashed at Naruto and snakes sprouted from his sleeves and shot out at Naruto and Sasuke was cut the snakes down. “About time you got up, let’s go!” Naruto said. They both dashed at Orochimaru, engaging him in close combat. Naruto and Sasuke both threw kicks at him and Orochimaru grabbed them by the legs and threw them into opposite directions. Naruto jumped into the river and began making handsigns “Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!” he yelled and a dragon made of water was created and it shot at Orochimaru. Orochimaru merely slammed his hands into the ground and a wall of mud appeared and blocked his jutsu. This wall of mud shaped into a dragon and started shooting missiles of mud at Naruto and he jumped.

Sasuke began making handsigns “Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire!” and he spit several fireballs at Orochimaru. Orochimaru merely created a handsign and sent expelled a huge blast of wind and Sasuke’s fireballs were sent back at him. Naruto began making handsigns and yelled “Water Release: Water Formation Wall!” as he expelled a huge stream of water, he was barely able to block the fireballs that were headed towards Sasuke. Snakes spouted from Orochimaru’s sleeves once more and they wrapped around Naruto’s leg and threw him at Sasuke, making them both fall back.Orochimaru then lunged at them and Sasuke kicked him away and took out four kunai and a shuriken. He threw his shuriken and Orochimaru dodged it easily. Sasuke then threw his Kunai, which Orochimaru once again dodged. The kunai looped around it pulled the shuriken back, hitting Orochimaru’s back and Sasuke pulled his strings, binding Orochimaru to a tree.

Naruto looked over to see Sasuke’s Sharingan activated and he began making handsigns. “Naruto give me a wind jutsu!” he ordered and Naruto began making handsigns as well. “Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!” he yelled, sending fire along his strings. “Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!” Naruto yelled, creating a large blast of wind that increased the size and speed of the fire greatly. The attack collided with Orochimaru inflicting great burns on him. Orochimaru opened his mouth and he climbed out of it, like he was just shedding his skin. He was no longer even injured or anything. _So this is a Sanin. We did all that work, just for him to shake it all off! That’s insane!_ Naruto thought. “You are truly interesting Naruto. You might be able to surpass your father’s skill. Sasuke… to use the Sharingan so well, so young. You remind me of Itachi, all those years ago. I had fun testing the both of you.” Orochimaru said, and made a handsign. Naruto couldn’t move, it felt like he’d been bound by invisible ropes. “What is this?” Naruto asked, but Orochimaru didn’t bother to answer. He made a handsign and his head shot Sasuke and he sank his teeth into Sasuke’s neck. After he did a black tomoe pattern appeared on his neck and Sasuke clutched his neck, dropped to the ground and began yelling out in pain. “Sasuke…” Naruto began. Orochimaru started chuckling as he sunk through the earth “It was fun playing with you puny Genin.” he teased.

“We have to find someplace to rest. We need to regain our strength and Sasuke needs to heal.” Naruto said. Sakura agreed and they searched and found a place deeper into the forest and closer to the tower. Once they’d got there Naruto laid Sasuke down on the ground and Sakura placed a cold rag on Sasuke’s forehead. “He has a fever, but he should be fine.” Sakura said. “Did you set up those traps where I asked?” Sakura asked. “Yes, I did. They should be hard to find.” Naruto said. “Naruto… what is that mark on Sasuke’s neck? Why was Orochimaru at the Chunin Exams? None of this makes sense.” Sakura said. “The mark on Sasuke’s neck appears to be a Juinjutsu of some kind. I have no idea why he’s at the Chunin Exams. “It’s night time, we should probably get some rest, you can sleep first Naruto. If Sasuke doesn’t wake up we’ll have to carry him to the tower, and you’ll need all your strength.” Sakura said. “Thank you Sakura.” Naruto replied as he found some soft dirt and laid his head, drifting off to sleep.   


Naruto woke upon daybreak and saw that Sakura was still awake, standing guard. “You didn’t have to stay awake the whole night Sakura, you should’ve woken me up.” Naruto scolded. “It’s fine…” Sakura said. “Heh, wake Sasuke up. We want to fight him!” a voice said. Naruto and Sakura both looked up to see a trio of Oto ninja. “I’ll fight you myself!” Naruto stood up. “Fine, we’ll kill you first… go!” Dosu said and all three of the ninja began to dash at Naruto. Naruto threw a shuriken at them and Naruto began making handsigns “Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!” and several shuriken appeared from thin air and were heading towards the Suna ninjas. Zaku made handsigns of his own blew violent airwaves and it repelled Naruto’s shuriken back at Naruto, who blocked them all skillfully with a kunai. Naruto clashed with Dosu, and missed his face as he’d blocked with the gauntlet on his arm. Suddenly, Naruto felt liquid running out of his ear and once he’d placed a hand to his ear he discovered that it was blood, his blood. “What the hell’s going on here?” Naruto asked. “My gauntlet amplifies sound waves.” Dosu bragged.

Naruto pounced into battle, kicking Dosu into a nearby tree and wrapping his chains around him. Zaku tried to hit Naruto from a blind spot and Naruto quickly turned around to wrap his chains around Zaku as well. Kin jumped at him and threw a flurry of senbon needles and Naruto made some handsigns “Water Release: Water Formation Wall!” Naruto yelled as he released a stream of water that blocked her senbon and pushed her back into a tree. Naruto threw two kunai that hit her arms and legs, sticking her to the tree by her clothes. “I’ll give you all the chance to leave now.” Naruto said lowly. Dosu and Zaku began two squirm in their chains to no avail, as Naruto merely tightened them. “Alright, we’ll leave quietly this time. But we _will _fight Sasuke, one way or the other.” Dosu said. “Fight me? If any of you want to fight me step forward.” Sasuke said. Naruto looked at Sasuke to see the Curse Mark spread across his face and a foul chakra filled the air. “Sasuke!” Naruto yelled. “Release them from those chains, allow them to defend themselves at least.” Sasuke said and Naruto obliged, releasing the both from their chains. Zaku thrust both of his hands at Sasuke and yelled “Extreme Decapitating Airwaves!” he yelled and a huge air wave was sent at them. Naruto quickly grabbed Sakura and used his chain to swing to a nearby tree, getting them out of the way. “Heh, look I’ve blown him away!” Zaku said. “Blown _who _away?” Sasuke asked from behind him as he kicked him away. Sasuke quickly began making handsigns “Fire Release: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!” Sasuke yelled and Zaku thrust his hands again, intending to blow the flame away, as he did it revealed the Shuriken that Sasuke had been hiding in his flames. The shuriken pierced Zaku’s arms and Sasuke quickly got behind him and placed his foot on Zaku’s back and he held his hands backwards. “He’s intending to break his arms…” Naruto said lowly.

“Heh, you seem to be proud of these arms, I could even say that you’re _attached _to them.” Sasuke said darkly. Sasuke grinned wickedly and Sakura’s eyes widened as a loud snapping sound rang out. Sasuke then turned to look at Dosu “You’re the only one left, still want to fight?” Sasuke asked with a grin. Sakura quickly ran to Sasuke and hugged him. “Stop! This isn’t you, just stop…” she cried and Sasuke’s Curse Mark began receding. Naruto took a sigh of relief, things were getting heavy there for a minute. Dosu quickly grabbed his teammates and got out of the situation. “Well we have both scrolls, lets begin heading to the tower now.” Sakura said. “Yeah, let’s head out.” Naruto said, and they began running towards the tower. They arrived at the tower and opened up their scrolls and smoke began coming out of them. “Sakura, drop it now!” Naruto said as he dropped his. Iruka appeared out of the scrolls and said “Hey guys, long time no see.”

“Iruka Sensei? What are you doing here?” Naruto asked. “At the end of the second test, it’s set up so the Chunin meet up with the exam takers, and I was allowed to be the one to greet you guys. You’ve all passed the second test, and with time to spare.” Iruka said. “What does that writing mean? There seems to be a missing word.” Sakura asked. “Oh Sakura I could’ve told you that. Sandaime taught me it a long time ago. It basically reads, if you lack heaven, seek wisdom, be prepared. If you lack earth, run in the fields, seek advantages. If you have both heaven and earth, you can succeed in even the most dangerous missions.” Naruto recited. “That’s correct Naruto. That’s what I was just preparing to tell you all. With that you can all proceed to the third test.” Iruka said.


	5. Prelims and Training for the Finals

“Congratulations on passing the second exam!” Anko said. All of the examiners and the Jonin were standing in front of the Genin in the arena. Naruto was looking around and it seemed that all of the rookies passed. Kaori’s team had passed as well, unfortunately. Kabuto’s team passed as well as the Suna team and the Oto team. Naruto was surprised that all of the rookies passed though, the other’s must’ve been training hard after the Academy. “Sandaime will now explain the second test! So listen up.” Anko said. “Before we begin the third test I want to tell you all something. This isn’t a mere test. It’s a life-risking battle with your dreams and your country’s prestige on the line. Take that into consideration as you all start the third test.” Hiruzen said. Someone Body Flicker’d into the arena and said “I apologize Hokage-sama, allow me to explain to them the 3rd exam.”

“By all means.” Sandaime replied. “Hello everyone I’m Hayate Gekko. Before the 3rd exam, there will be a preliminary exam, to decide who gets to participate in the main event. This preliminary will begin immediately.” he said and the Genin began getting unruly. “A preliminary? But they told us this would be the 3rd exam!” Kiba yelled. “It was supposed to be, but we didn’t expect so many to pass. There will be guests from foreign lands, we don’t want to disappoint them with too many fights. So those who aren’t feeling well can quit now.” Hayate said in between coughs. Naruto chuckled internally, it seemed like Hayate himself isn’t feeling well. Kabuto raised his hand “I’m going to quit. I was hurt in the fight with those Oto ninja, and I don’t want to risk further injury.” he said. Naruto had grown even more suspicious of the ninja. He said he’s taken this exam multiple times and he still hasn’t passed, and he gets this far to quit. It didn’t make any sense to Naruto. “You’re Kabuto Yaushi from Konoha right? You may leave now… anyone else who wants to retire?” Hayate asked. Kabuto walked out of the arena. Sasuke clutched his Curse Mark and Sakura saw him. “Sasuke, you should probably quit as well. That Curse Mark still hurts right? If you continue, you can be hurt badly…” Sakura said in a concerned tone. 

“Shut up Sakura…” Sasuke said lowly. “I don’t care about this exam, I only care about testing my strength against strong people. I’m an avenger! I need to be strong enough to avenge my clan, that’s the only thing I care about.” Sasuke said. “Nobody wants to quit it seems, so we’ll begin with these preliminaries. There are basically no rules, the fight continues until one of you dies, gets knocked out, or concedes defeat. But I can decide the winner, so we don’t increase the amount of casualties. Now open the object that controls your destiny!” Hayate said, as an electric scoreboard was revealed. “This electric scoreboard will show the match-ups for each battle. Let’s announce the names for the first fight.” Hayate said as names began cycled through randomly until it settled on two. Sasuke Uchiha vs Yoroi Akado. Naruto smirked, Sasuke would have the first fight, he didn’t even get any time to recover. 

“Now those two entrants come out to the front. The two participants in the first fight are Yoroi and Sasuke, are you ready?” Both of them nodded. “Those who aren’t fighting move to the upper level.” Hayate said and Naruto made a handsign and appeared in a puff of smoke on the upper level, and the rest of the Genin walked on. “Now the first match begins!” Hayate yelled. Sasuke began getting pushed back early by Yoroi due to his jutsu that absorbs chakra. Yoroi was trying to make it a close fight and Sasuke didn’t have the stamina to dodge his attacks well. He also couldn’t gain distance and use ninjutsu because the curse mark was likely interfering with his chakra. Sasuke had gotten his chakra absorbed on multiple occasions and he’d been panting. Yoroi ran at him again and he kicked him into the air, using the same move that Lee had used on him during his fight. Lee’s eyes widened as he used the Leaf’s Shadow as well, getting behind Yoroi in midair. Sasuke looked at Lee “I’ll admit I stole that move, but from now on, it’s all original.” Sasuke said, right before he spit up some blood and his Curse Mark began acting up, spreading across his face. Sasuke made a pained look and then opened his eyes wide and the Curse Mark began to retract, surprising all the Jonin, and Naruto as well. 

Sasuke tried to kick Yoroi in the side, but he blocked it with his arm. Sasuke then blocked his arm, with his own and swung his other leg in a fierce arc, kicking Yoroi to the ground. “Lion Rendan!” Sasuke yelled as Yoroi began to spit up blood. Hayate went to check Yoroi and he was indeed knocked out. “Winner, Sasuke Uchiha!” he said and Ino and Sakura began cheering and Naruto smirked. Kakashi quickly appeared behind Sasuke, catching him as he fell backwards. Kakashi then carted Sasuke away as the medical team came to treat Yoroi. Naruto realized that Kakashi was probably going to seal up Sasuke’s Curse Mark. 

The next match was Zaku versus Shino and both ninja’s stepped in the arena. Zaku’s arms were wrapped up in a cast, due to Sasuke breaking them. “How’s he gonna fight like that?” Naruto asked Shikamaru, who was standing near where he and Sakura were. “I don’t know, he shouldn’t be able to fight like that, unless his fighting style revolves around kicking.” Shikamaru said. “It doesn’t.” Naruto replied. Shino’s fight was pretty quick. He had his bugs surround Zaku from one direction and Shino threatened to attack him from the other direction. While he talked to Zaku he had his bugs close up the wind holes in his hands so when Zaku tried to blast Shino with both hands, his arms blew off. Naruto was seriously impressed with Shino in that fight. He wasn’t someone to be underestimated for sure. Kakashi came back after Shino’s match as well, without Sasuke though. So I was right. He did seal Sasuke’s Curse Mark away, that’s why he’s not here. “Hey Kakashi Sensei.” Naruto said, and Kakashi waved. “What happened to Sasuke?” Sakura asked. “He’s resting in a hospital bed. He’s fine.” he replied. 

“Next fight. Misumi vs Roku!” Hayate said. “We need to beware those Iwa ninja. Especially the one named Kaori. He has the Lava Release Kekkei Genkai and he’s beyond Genin level of skill. He tried to assassinate me in the Forest of Death. I beat him, but he was still a very tough customer.” Naruto said. “Well you know that the Yondaime being your father does paint a target on your back. Iwa was some of the worst of your father’s enemies. I bet that by killing you, an Iwa ninja would become a hero back in Iwagakure. That’s why their after you.” Kakashi said. “So they try to assassinate you just because of who you’re father was? That’s terrible!” Sakura said. “That’s why I train hard. So I can protect myself, also to become the greatest Hokage ever of course.” Naruto said, as he began paying attention to the fight.

Misumi dashed at Roku and tried to hit him and Roku blocked it. Misumi’s limbs then began to stretch until he had his hands around his neck and around his arms and legs. “Whoa.” Naruto said. “In order to gather information, my body has been altered to fit into any space. I can keep squeezing until I break your bones, so I advice you to quit now.” Misumi said as he squeezed tightly, threatening to break the Iwa ninja’s neck. “I give!” Roku yelled and Misumi released him. “The winner of this match is Misumi!” Hayate said. “That jutsu was pretty amazing, being able to stretch your limbs like that. I wonder what kind of training he had to go through to do that?” Naruto questioned. “I don’t know, but I do know it couldn’t have been pleasant.” Kakashi replied. The board began to go again, randomizing the names and Naruto’s eyes widened when he saw who was next. “Sakura, look at the match.” Naruto said, as Sakura wasn’t paying attention. Sakura looked up and saw who she was fighting and her eyes widened with shock. The board read “Sakura vs Ino” and Naruto looked over at Ino as well to see that she was just as surprised. 

Both Sakura and Ino walked onto the arena. “Watch this fight closely Naruto. I worked with Sakura when we were at the Land of Waves. I’ve shown her some things.” Kakashi said. “I’m not worried about Sakura, I’m actually worried about both. I want both of them to win, Ino was a good friend of mine in the Academy, and Sakura’s my teammate. I’ll just cheer them both on.” Naruto said. Sakura took her hitai-ate off, and tied it around her head, as a headband and Ino did the same. “Just know I don’t plan on losing to you in love, or ninjutsu.” Sakura declared. “The Fourth Match of the Preliminary Exams, begins now!” Hayate announced, jumping out of the way. 

Sakura quickly whipped several shuriken at Ino who jumped into the air to dodge them. Sakura expected that though and she kicked Ino into a wall. “It seems that Sakura has improved. I’m still eager to see the Genjutsu you taught her.” Naruto said. “You’ll see.” Kakashi said, as both Sakura and Ino dashed at each other, engaging in close combat with no clear winner. Every blow was blocked, and if Sakura got a blow in, then Ino would quickly get a blow in as well, in short the fight was becoming longer than the other fights, and the Kunoichi had began panting. Ino began to make the handsign for her Clan’s jutsu and Sakura began running and making handsigns of her own and 2 clones of Sakura appeared. They weren’t solid clones, it was the basic Clone Jutsu, but Sakura had done it to confuse Ino and not give her a clear target. Sakura then resumed making handsigns and she said “Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Jutsu” and suddenly Ino was yelling. “What’s going on?” Naruto asked. “Sakura used the same jutsu that I used on her, on Ino. Ino is most likely seeing her worst fears right now.” Kakashi informed him. Sakura quickly closed the distance and landed some quick blows that put Ino down, making Sakura the victor. “The winner of this fight is Sakura Haruno!” Hayate announced and Naruto and Kakashi cheered. 

Once Sakura got back to the stand Naruto began congratulating her. “Nice job Sakura, you did well.” he said. Sakura immediately sat down and took a deep breath. “Thanks, that took a lot out of me.” she said as she began resting her eyes. “The 5th Match is Temari vs Rei!” Hayate announced and both of the girls stepped down onto the arena. “Another battle of Kunoichi, but it seems this one will be much more fierce.” Naruto said. “The 5th match of the Preliminary Exams, begin!” Hayate said as he jumped out of the way. Rei started off lunging at Temari with her Tanto, and Temari was able to block all of her attacks with her war fan, and Rei kicked Temari away. Temari began waving her fan and she generated huge blades of wind that riddled Rei’s arms with minor cuts. Rei began running through handsigns and slammed her hands into the ground and yelled “Earth Release: Rock Pillar Spears!” and pointed rocks sprouted out of the ground where Temari was, but she jumped and waved her fan once more. “Sickle Weasel Jutsu!” she said as she created a gust of wind. Rei began making handsigns and slammed her hands onto the ground. “Earth Release: Rock Shelter!” she said as the earth came up from the ground and protected her. 

Once Temari landed she spread her fan, revealing 3 stars and placed it in front of her, concealing her movement. She then crouched and began making handsigns and created a clone. Rei began making handsigns and slammed her hands into the ground “Earth Release: Rock Pillar Spears!” and jagged rocks appeared from below Temari’s clone, destroying it, as that happened the real Temari grabbed her fan and swung with full force. “Sickle Weasel Jutsu!” Temari yelled as she created a gust of wind that lifted Rei up and trapped her inside. She received dozens of cuts and as she fell to the ground Temari slammed closed her war fan, and brought it down on Rei’s stomach, making her spit blood. “She’s a brutal one.” Naruto said. “Temari is the winner of this match!” Hayate announced and Temari made a handsign and appeared next to the rest of her team. 

“Next match! Shikamaru vs Kin!” Hayate announced, as the both of them walked to the arena. “It needs to hurry up and be my turn. I’m getting excited seeing all these good fights.” Naruto said. “Don’t be in such a rush Naruto, your turn will come.” Kakashi said. “Begin!” Hayate said and Kin pounced into action, launching senbon at Shikamaru, which he dodged easily, and Naruto noticed they had bells on them. Shikamaru smirked and went to explain the old trick of training someone to dodge based on sound, then sending Senbon with no bells on them. Kin then pulled the string and brought them back at Shikamaru, piercing his arm and sending him back. Shikamaru then grinned as he caught her with his Shadow Possession Jutsu. He then grabbed a Shuriken from his pouch. “Are you dumb, we both have the same movements. If you attack, you’ll be hurt too!” Kin said. “I know that.” Shikamaru said and then Naruto realized what he was doing. “I always knew Shikamaru was smart, but he’s 5 steps ahead. He planned the whole battle out.” Naruto said, as Shikamaru threw a Shuriken and Kin mirrored it. Shikamaru then leaned back, and Kin did the same, and knocked herself out against the wall that was behind her. 

“Winner, Shikamaru!” Hayate announced, and Shikamaru walked back into the stands. “Nice job Shikamaru. I realized what you were doing just before it happened.” Naruto said. “Thanks Naruto, be careful. Some of the guys that are left seem to be extremely strong.” Shikamaru warned. “I know, but I won’t lose.” Naruto said. “Next match. Naruto Uzumaki vs Kiba Inuzuka!” Hayate announced. “It’s finally my turn.” Naruto said as he made a handsigns and appeared next to Hayate. Kiba walked down to the arena as well. “Good luck Naruto!” Sakura said. “Thanks!” Naruto replied. Naruto looked at Sandaime and smiled. “Begin!” Hayate yelled as he jumped out of the way. “I don’t care if you’re the son of Yondaime or not. I’m not gonna lose here!” Kiba yelled as he swung Akamaru onto his back. “Beast Human Clone!” he said as Akamaru transformed into Kiba. “Four Legs Jutsu!” he said as his canine teeth began to elongate and his nails turned into fangs. Kiba then threw a smoke bomb and yelled “Fang Passing Fang!” as they began rotating.

Naruto began making handsigns “Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!” Naruto yelled as he creating a strong gust of wind that blew the smoke away and sent Kiba flying into the air. Naruto quickly made a couple of Shadow Clones and they made handsigns “Wind Release: Gale Palm!” and propelled Naruto through the air at Kiba. Naruto pulled out a Kunai and sliced Kiba’s ribs. “Argh!” he yelled as Naruto continued shooting past him. Naruto unleashed a volley of Shuriken at Kiba who was falling and he turned around and blocked them all with his kunai. Naruto then created more Shadow Clones that threw him down at Kiba and Akamaru, who dodged him. They began rotating “Fang Passing Fang!” they yelled, trying to hit Naruto who was just hitting the ground, but Naruto did a back flip and barely got away. Kiba and Akamaru came back around separately and Naruto quickly created a Shadow Clone, and they both made handsigns. “Water Release: Water Formation Wall!” they said simultaneously as they both expelled a stream of water from their mouths that blocked both Kiba and Akamaru. Naruto and his clone began making handsigns again and yelled “Wind Release: Gale Palm!” as they increased the velocity of the water, turning it into a twister that sent both Kiba and Akamaru flying into a wall.

Naruto didn’t waste any time reducing the distance between them and manifesting his chains and wrapping them around Kiba and Akamaru’s necks. “Concede defeat.” Naruto said. “Okay… I give!” Kiba said begrudgingly. “This battle goes to Naruto!” Hayate said, as Naruto made a handsign and appeared next to Kakashi and Sakura again. “Nice job Naruto.” Sakura cheered. “You used your jutsu well Naruto. I can’t wait to see how you fight in the finals.” Kakashi said. Naruto then looked up at the electronic board and grimaced when he saw the next match “Neji Hyuga vs Hinata Hyuga” 

“Both fighters come down.” Hayate said as the pair of Hyuga walked down. “This match-up is an interesting one. The rift between the Hyuga’s branch family and main family isn’t a secret. It’s most likely going to affect their battle.” Naruto stated. “I never thought I’d be facing you… Hinata” Neji said. “Neji…” Hinata replied. “Now you may begin the match!” Hayate said, as he backed away from the fighters. “Before we start this match I’d like to tell you to forfeit now, you don’t make a good Shinobi” Neji began. “Your heart isn’t made for the life of a Shinobi. You’re too soft, you seek to avoid conflict and bloodshed. You always agree with others, never resisting.” Hinata lowered her head and her eyes dropped. Neji was right, Hinata was the type who isn’t suited to be a ninja, but who was he to tell her to quit? “You have no confidence in yourself and you have a sense of inferiority. I thought it would be best to remain a Genin, but the Chunin Exam could only be taken in a team of three. You didn’t want to let Kiba or Shino down, so you joined but your heart was never truly in it.” Neji said. 

“You’re wrong, I wanted to change myself… that’s why I entered these exams.” Hinata said softly. “You of all people should know… people cannot change themselves.” Neji began and Hinata’s eyes widened. “Once a loser, always a loser. A person’s personality and strength will not change, just like the fact that I am from the branch house, and you’re from the main house, cannot be changed.” Naruto gripped the rails. He wanted to tell Neji off, tell him he was wrong, but it wasn’t his fight, and he was sure that Hinata wouldn’t want him to fight her battles. “I have seen through many things with this Byakugan of mine. So I know, you’re just acting strong. Deep down, your only desire is to get as far away from here as you can.” Neji said cruelly. “No, I really… “Hinata began and Neji activated his Byakugan, revealing the veins near his eyes. It became unbearable to watch this for Naruto and he yelled “Hinata, stand up for yourself! This is becoming hard to watch!” as Naruto said that, Neji stared at him with contempt and Hinata’s eyes hardened, showing her resolve. 

“So you won’t forfeit? Don’t let that fool get you hurt or worse.” Neji sneered. “I won’t run anymore!” Hinata said as she made a handsign and activated her Byakugan. She quickly got into the stance for the Gentle Fist, and Neji did the same. Both of them engaged in a quick flurry of close combat and Neji managed to block all of Hinata’s strikes with grace. Hinata then swung around and seemingly hit him in the chest under his guard. “She landed a hit!” Sakura said “No… she didn’t.” Naruto said as Hinata spit out blood. Neji had blocked her strike at the last second and landed his own on her chest. “Is this the extent of the Hyuga’s main branch’s power?” Neji taunted. “I don’t like Neji, but I gotta admit that he is strong. That blow might’ve been the end of this battle.” Naruto said. Hinata began trying to hit Neji again, even though her ferocity had left her. Neji blocked all of her attacks, and landed yet another blow to her chest, making her drop to the ground “This battle is over… I hate to say it.” Naruto said lowly. “Yeah… she tried her best, but she’s no longer able to win this fight.” Kakashi said. “Call the battle, examiner. To continue with this fight will result in her death.” Neji said, as Hinata began to climb to her feet, panting heavily and still bleeding. 

“It’s not over…” Hinata said. “It’s no use to act tough, I can tell that you can barely stand. From the time you were born, the responsibility of the main house had been thrust on you. You always hated yourself for your weakness, but people cannot change. That is destiny. There is no need to suffer and fight anymore.” Neji said. “That isn’t true Neji. The one that is fighting against destiny the most… is you.” Hinata said, and Neji’s eyes hardened. He began running at Hinata and the proctor yelled “This fight is over Neji!” as he did. As Neji was about to strike a blow to Hinata, Naruto and the Jonin quickly Body Flicker’d to protect Hinata from the impending blow, with Naruto standing right in front of his hand. “Neji, give it a rest. You told me you weren’t going to lose your head off on this.” Gai said. “You’ve disgraced yourself here Neji, trying to attack a girl who has already lost.” Naruto said coldly. Hinata dropped to the floor “Are you okay Hinata?” Naruto asked, as the Medics rushed to Hinata, putting her on a gurney and carrying her out of there. 

“Hey fool… let me tell you something. If you’re a Shinobi, don’t cheer for others. Also, in the end, a loser is a loser, they cannot change!” Neji exclaimed. Naruto’s eyes narrowed. “You’re wrong! I’ll prove it to you during the Finals.” Naruto said. “You wanna fight me? I was the number one rookie in my class, you won’t take me down as easily as you took down Kiba.” Neji said. “I’m also the number one rookie in my class, as if it means anything! If we fight, I’ll defeat you. I’ll see you in the finals.” Naruto said as he turned his back on Neji and went back into the stands. “Next fight! Kaori versus Tenten!” Hayate said, as everyone began to return to the stands. Both Kaori and Tenten jumped out of the stands and glanced at each other. “I don’t want to fight a girl, but so be it.” Kaori sneered. “The match may begin now!” Hayate said. “This is the one that I fought, he’s a tough one. He’s not Genin level.” Naruto said. Tenten started by pulling out a three-section staff to test Kaori at close combat. Kaori fought her staff with a Kunai, clashing with her quickly and engaging in some quick combat. Kaori tried to catch Tenten off guard with a kick, but she blocked it with her staff, which she quickly collapsed into it’s three parts and wrapped it around his leg, and swinging him away. 

“Nice job Tenten!” Lee yelled. As Kaori was flying away he made handsigns and yelled “Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower!” Kaori spit out a flurry of fireballs which Tenten avoided by jumping into the air. Kaori unleashed a volley of shuriken which Tenten blocked by spinning her staff. Tenten began unleashing a volley of her own weapons at Kaori which he blocked. “You aren’t bad… let’s kick it up a notch!”Kaori began running through handsigns and yelled “Lava Release: Ash Stone Seal Jutsu!” as he spewed a thick cloud of ash that wrapped around Tenten. “I-I can’t move!” she said as the ash hardened. “Is that the Lava Release you spoke of? It doesn’t resemble Lava at all.” Kakashi said. “When he used it against me, it resembled molten lava, I guess he can use it in different forms.” Naruto replied. “This match is over proctor, unless you want me to finish her off…” Kaori threatened. “The winner of this match is Kaori.” Hayate said, as Kaori walked back into the stands. “You aren’t going to release her?” Lee questioned. “One of you guys do it, I don’t have time for her anymore.” Kaori smirked. Lee jumped down and broke the hardened ash with a strong kick, freeing Tenten. 

The next two matches go exactly the same as in canon, and also, I didn’t feel like writing out the whole Gaara vs Lee fight. The next fights were Dosu vs Choji, and Gaara vs Lee. Dosu and Gaara both clear their matches. Also Kankuro advanced automatically because he didn’t have anyone left to fight. 

“The preliminaries for the Third Test are complete! Congratulations to all of you who’ve won the right to fight in the third round of the Chunin Exams.” Hayate said as Sakura took a sigh of relief. “Phew, we’re finally done. I hope the 3rd round isn’t right after this one.” Sakura said. “No it isn’t, they give us a period of time to train, also to allow them to send the invitations to nobles and Shinobi leaders.” Naruto said. “I have to leave to check on Sasuke, pay attention to the instructions so we’ll be able to relay them to Sasuke.” Kakashi said as he disappeared in a puff of smoke. “Now I’d like to explain the third test.” Hiruzen said. “As I told you before, your matches will be seen by everyone. Each of you will fight to represent the strength of your countries. That is the reason why the finals will be held a month from now.” Naruto smiled “See I told you.” he said to Sakura. 

“We’re holding in a month to give us the time to relay the information to the lords and Shinobi leaders. It’s also to give you time to prepare for the examination. Get to know your enemies and their strength, also know yourselves. This time is where you can calculate your chances of winning, analyze the information that you’ve gotten from all of your battles.” Hiruzen continued. I have to train, I can’t stagnate during this time. I’ve shown off a lot of my abilities, they can adapt to them if I’m not careful. Naruto thought. “I’d like to dismiss you all, but we have to determine who you’ll all be fighting. Anko is coming around with a box with pieces of paper in them. You’re going to draw numbers.” Hiruzen said. Naruto drew his number and he got number 1. “Alright, you all took a piece, now I’d like you to tell me that number from right to left.” Hiruzen said, and all of them told them their numbers. 

“Alright, I will now reveal to you the final tournament!” Hiruzen said. “Ibiki show them the arrangements.” Ibiki revealed a tournament bracket. Naruto’s first fight was versus Neji and Naruto smirked, it was exactly like he’d wanted. “Are there any questions?” Hiruzen asked. “Since this is a tournament, does that meant that there is only one person that becomes a Chunin?” Shikamaru asked. “No, we will be evaluating your ability based on your fights. Those with the necessary qualities to become a Chunin will be able to become a Chunin, even if they lose in their first match. To advance in the tournament is just giving yourself more chances to appeal to the judges. Do you understand now Shikamaru?” Hiruzen asked and he nodded. “Well then, you are all dismissed until a month from now.” Hiruzen said and everyone left, but Naruto stayed. 

“Did ya like my fight jii-san?” Naruto asked. “I think you did well Naruto. Are you ready for the finals?” Hiruzen asked. “Yeah, I’m ready. I’ll train myself hard. Oh, you should know… during the second exam, my team encountered Orochimaru. I had to fight him.” Naruto said. “I knew that he’d placed the Curse Mark on Sasuke, I didn’t know you fought him. Is everything okay?” Hiruzen asked. “Yeah, he wasn’t fighting seriously but he was insanely strong. Knowing that he could’ve taken my life at any time was pretty heavy. I hadn’t felt that feeling before.” Hiruzen began smoking his pipe. “Orochimaru is very powerful, but you have something he’ll never have.” Naruto was wondering what he could have that Orochimaru didn’t. He then smiled as he realized where this was going. “The Will of Fire.” Hiruzen said. “Also, those Iwa ninja tried to assassinate me in the Forest of Death. Particularly the Lava Release user.” Naruto said. “I was watching his match closely, he seems to be very strong. But it seems your training paid off since you were able to win.” Hiruzen said. “Alright, prepare to train. But first, a trip to the hot springs would be soothing right now.” Naruto said as he made a handsign and vanished. 

Naruto went to the hot springs and dipped in the water. It was soothing on his tired muscles. While Naruto was there he saw someone spying on the women’s side of the hot spring. The man was tall with long white hair. It matched the description of a person that he’s only heard of from Hiruzen. “No, it couldn’t be…” Naruto said lowly. Naruto decided to take a chance on it. “Jiraiya?” he called. The man turned around and Naruto began to see his full features. He was an older man and he wore a forehead protector that read “Oil” on it. He had red markings that ran down his eyes. It was him. “Jiraiya of the Sanin? It is you!” Naruto said. Jiraiya made a handsign and summoned a toad and jumped on it and struck a pose. “I’m the lady-loving, toad sennin, Jiraiya of the Sanin!” Jiraiya said as he jumped and his toad disappeared. “Can you train me?!” Naruto asked. 

“Train you? Why would I do that?” Jiraiya scoffed. “Because I’m the son of your student, and the late Yondaime Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki. Also, aren’t you supposed to be my godfather? I’ve never even met you. You owe me!” Naruto exclaimed. Jiraiya was slightly surprised that Naruto had known these things. “You got me, I am your godfather. But who told you all of those things?” Jiraiya questioned. “Sandaime of course, nobody else would tell me, it’s against the law.” Naruto said. Jiraiya was visibly confused now. “Sandaime didn’t want to tell me, rather he was put into a position where he had to tell me.” Naruto said and Jiraiya made a face. “What do you want to know kid?” Jiraiya asked. “My father was known for two jutsu. The Rasengan and the Flying Thunder God. I haven’t learned the Flying Thunder God yet, neither have I learned the Rasengan. But I have a scroll on the Flying Thunder God, so I’ll learn it on my own eventually. But my father never left me a scroll on the Rasengan. Also, Sandaime told me that nobody else besides my father knows the Flying Thunder God. But he said there are others that know the Rasengan. I’m guessing that you’re one of them, seeing that you taught my father.” 

“So you want to learn the Rasengan eh kid? It’s a difficult jutsu. You sure you’re ready for it?” Jiraiya asked. “I’m positive.” Naruto replied. “Alright kid, walk with me. We have to go get some balloons.” Jiraiya said. As they walked Naruto informed Jiraiya on the full Danzo situation and Jiraiya was surprised that he was bold enough to do something like that. “We’re here.” Jiraiya said as he walked to a general store. He bought a couple of balloons and rubber balls and he filled one of the balloons up with water. “The first step is rotation, you need to learn to spin your chakra in multiple directions at once. These balloons will be an indicator of your success. If you can burst a balloon with your chakra you’ve succeeded the first step.” Jiraiya said as he burst the balloon in his hand with pure chakra. “Once you complete the Rasengan, it’ll look like this!” Jiraiya created a blue orb of chakra and slammed it into a tree and he broke the tree in half quickly. “Cool! Gimme one of those water balloons so I can try the first step.” Naruto said excitedly and Jiraiya handed him one. Naruto then shifted it into his dominant hand and began molding his chakra wildly. Naruto imagined a whirlpool, churning wildly and emulated it with his chakra, increasing it’s rotation and velocity. Naruto smirked as his balloon burst. 

“Heh, that wasn’t too hard.” Naruto said. Jiraiya was shocked. Not even he had completed the first step that quickly. “Don’t get a big head. The first step is by far the easiest. Try that with the rubber ball.” Jiraiya said as he tossed one to Naruto. Naruto began doing the same thing as he tried to do with the balloon. The rubber ball wiggled a lot, but it never burst like the balloon. “See kid, it isn’t that easy. This one will take you longer than the next one. This is the second step, and it’s all about power. You have to increase the density and volume of your chakra this time. I’ll meet you at the hot springs tomorrow. Keep working on bursting the rubber ball.” Jiraiya said, as he walked away. Naruto went to the training field and kept trying the second step. It had gotten late into the night and Naruto had barely even made any progress. “One last time! Then I’ll go rest.” Naruto said as he tried once more. Naruto began manipulating his chakra and this time, instead of water he imagined piercing winds as he did. To Naruto’s surprise the rubber ball popped, but not as he expected it to. It only put a hole in the rubber ball that let all of the air out and flattened it, but in Naruto’s eyes it was progress. He went home and rested well, waking up early in the morning to continue training. 

Naruto had been thinking about what Jiraiya had told him, about how this step was all about the power and the density of his chakra. It reminded him of a moment of his training with Hiruzen. “Now that you’ve tapped into the Kyuubi’s chakra, tell me how it feels?” Hiruzen asked as he looked at Naruto. Naruto was in his one-tailed form, with reddish-orange chakra surrounding him in a cloak. “This chakra feels… potent, and dense. It doesn’t feel like my regular chakra which is calm. This chakra feels evil.” Naruto said. “That’s correct. The Nine-Tailed Fox has a particularly strong and potent chakra just like all of the Bijuu, but the Nine-Tails is much more potent than the rest.” Hiruzen replied. 

Naruto tried to emulate how the Nine-Tails chakra felt to him, minus the malevolence. Naruto made his chakra much more dense and heavy. He began using his chakra, swirling it wildly withing the rubber ball, making it heavier and denser until it burst completely. “Yes!” Naruto exclaimed. Naruto went to the hot springs and found Jiraiya waiting there, peeing on women. “Pervert, I finished the second step.” Naruto said. Jiraiya turned around “Let me see.” he said. Naruto took out another rubber ball and began making his chakra heavier and denser before he manipulated it. The rubber ball then burst and Naruto said “Alright, on to the next step!” This kid… I thought he wouldn’t master this step for at least a couple of days. I would say he’s a prodigy, but we’ll see how fast he completes the final step. “The final step is to contain it into an orb. You have to keep the same destructive power and rotation from the first two steps, and now you have to contain it. I’ll warn you, this step is far harder than the first two.” Jiraiya said as he blew up a balloon. 

“Look here.” Jiraiya said as he manipulated his chakra inside of the balloon and made a Rasengan in his other hand. “I’m doing the exact same thing in both hands.” he said. Jiraiya then gave Naruto a balloon. “Try it.” Naruto began manipulating his chakra, but he burst the balloon immediately. “So this part is just pure chakra control?” Naruto asked. “Yes.” Jiraiya replied. “I’ll be here again tomorrow.” Jiraiya said as he gave Naruto a pack of balloons “You’ll need them.” Jiraiya walked away and left Naruto to his own devices. Naruto walked over to the training field and blew up another balloon. Naruto began doing the first two steps for the Rasengan and he tried to control it, but it kept spinning out of control. Naruto had kept practicing the Rasengan until it had gotten dark. His hands were sore and his chakra was running low, but he figured that might help him. He had a lot of chakra, which made it harder to control. Since his chakra was running low he had less chakra to control and he figured that would be easier. If he got it he would be able to remember the sensation. Naruto began manipulating his chakra picturing the orb that Jiraiya had made in his hand. He let it churn and rotate, but he was in control this time and the balloon didn’t pop. Then, Naruto’s chakra began to unravel, spinning the ball of chakra out of control and popping the balloon. 

“I just got to remember how that felt.” Naruto said as he begin forming a Rasengan in his hand without the balloon. The blue orb of spinning chakra formed in Naruto’s hand and he felt it trying to unravel. “Maintain it, keep it spinning.” Naruto said as he kept the chakra rotating in his hand. Naruto ran to a tree and slammed the Rasengan into it, breaking the tree in half. “It’s complete!” Naruto said. The next day Naruto showed up to see Jiraiya doing his usual hobby and he turned around. “So how far have you gotten, Naruto?” he asked. Naruto smiled as he formed the Rasengan in his hand. “You’ve mastered it already? That was by far the hardest step.” Jiraiya said in shock. It seems that he is a prodigy. It took Minato three years to develop the Rasengan, and Naruto mastered it in three days. 

“It took me a while, but I ended up figuring it out last night.” Naruto said. “So the next thing that you’re trying to master is the Flying Thunder God right? Before that you should learn how to summon toads like Minato and I. It’s my trademark ability, and it opens up a bunch of other abilities that you’ll be able to learn.” Jiraiya said. “I can already summon Enma. Can a person have more than one summoning contract?” Naruto asked. “Enma? You and Sensei must be closer than I thought. He didn’t allow any of the Sanin to sign that summoning contract. Anyways, you can sign two contracts, but both parties have to allow for it. You’ll have to summon Enma and ask if he’ll allow you to summon both him, and the toads of Mount Myoboku.” Jiraiya said. “Alright.” Naruto replied as he bit his thumb and made the handsigns. Enma appeared before both of them. “Enma, me and the pervert here were having a conversation. He wants to teach me how to summon toads, I wanted to know if you would mind it. He said I would have to have permission from both parties.” Naruto said. “Stop calling me the pervert!” Jiraiya replied. Naruto laughed “It isn’t like he doesn’t already know you.” 

“I don’t see a problem with you summoning both me and the toads of Mount Myoboku. I’ll wont interfere.” Enma said. “Thank you, I appreciate that.” Naruto said. Enma vanished in a puff of smoke. “Alright, let’s get to that summoning contract.” Jiraiya said as they walked to Naruto’s back yard. Jiraiya bit his thumb and made the correct handsigns and slammed his hand into the ground and a toad appeared and he held the scroll in his mouth. He unrolled his tongue and gave Naruto the scroll. “Alright kid, you know the deal. Sign your name in blood and then make the handsigns for the Summoning Jutsu.” Jiraiya said. Naruto examined the summoning contract and he saw Jiraiya and Minato’s name and fingerprints. Naruto touched his father’s fingerprint and grew sad for a moment. He then bit his thumb, letting the blood flow onto the paper as he wrote his name swiftly. He signed “Naruto Uzumaki” and pressed his fingerprints onto the scroll. “Good, now try to summon something, but don’t put your all into it. We don’t want you to summon Gamabunta in your backyard.” Jiraiya joked. Naruto made the handsigns and used the blood already on his thumb. “Summoning Jutsu!” Naruto said and he summoned a toad the size of the one that Jiraiya had summoned before. 

“Looks like you’ve got it with no problems. That’s good. Now kid, I won’t be able to train you everyday. I taught you the things I did because only I could’ve taught them to you. You’ll should have no problems at all in the exams if you’re as strong as I think you are.” Jiraiya said. “How strong do you think I am?” Naruto asked mischievously. “I’ll just say that you’re a lot stronger than I was at your age.” Jiraiya made a handsign and disappeared. Naruto dismissed his summon and went back inside of his house. There was one more thing that Naruto wanted to learn before the finals. He was going to surprise everyone at the finals.


	6. Konoha Crush!

Naruto went to his room and retrieved his father’s scroll out of it’s hiding spot. He opened it up and he read it for the first time. At first it just explained the jutsu, telling Naruto what he’d already known about it. Then it had gotten to the instructions. “_Before you can use the Flying Thunder God, you must create a __technique __formula. __This formula is basically a seal, and it binds you to a location, it serves as your anchor. __This formula is made of a seal, this seal is detailed inside of this scrol__l, but you have to follow it extremely closely._ _This formula has a variety of uses. It allows you to mark a target, you’ll be able to place the formula on someone with just a touch. To teleport to a thing, you must apply your formula to it. __It’s important that you draw your seal with your blood and put a bit of chakra into it the first time you make it. You won’t need to do it all of the other times, but for the original you will need to._ _This formula links two things together by their chakra, __it will be the bridge for you to teleport. __So the first thing you must do is to develop your formula. __I put my formula on my signature Three-Pronged Kunai. It allowed me to get my formula across the battlefield and be able to help my allies whenever I needed to.__”_ The scroll had a copy of Minato’s formula on it as an example.

Naruto had learned about seals during his training with Sandaime. He was good at them, but he wasn’t nearly as capable as Sandaime or his father. Naruto had to decide what he wanted his seal to look like. Naruto remembered his own seal on his belly, and the crest that was on the flak jackets that most Konoha ninja wore. The Uzumaki swirl, he too wore it on his back. Naruto decided that he’d use that as the base for the formula and he began working on his seal. After two weeks of tough work, Naruto developed his formula. Naruto retrieved one of his tags that he’d had for sealing. Naruto bit his thumb and drew his formula onto the paper. Naruto then pumped chakra into it and it began to glow brightly, then the light faded. Naruto had gotten a dozen of Three-Pronged Kunai made, but with his formula instead of his father’s. Naruto held one of his kunai, trying to get used to the weight of it. He looked at the seal. It was an Uzumaki spiral with his formula woven into it. Naruto decided he was ready to see the next step. “_Now that you’ve developed your formula it’ll allow you to link your chakra __to it always. Anything that you’ve marked with your formula will allow you to teleport to it. Now we get into the actual act of teleportation. _

_If you’ve followed my directions closely and made the seal and integrated it within your formula, you should be almost ready to go. This seal will allow you to warp yourself into a dimensional void and teleport to your marker. _ _The dimensional void cuts down the time it takes to go somewhere to a minuscule amount of time. _ _But this is an S-ranked ninjutsu for a reason. _ _Your formula is your anchor, it has to be perfect. The seal that you’ve integrated into it has to be flawless. _ _This jutsu is dangerous, you need particularly large chakra reserves, especially to make large jumps. It’s much easier to make smaller jumps, which is why I excelled in the battlefield, where all of my markers are mostly in a small area. There’s also the chance that you messed up your seal, if you have… there’s a chance that you can be stuck in the dimensional void that I mentione_ _d. You probably won’t know if you’ve messed up the seal… until it’s too late, then what good would it be to know? So double-check, triple-check if you need to, and when you’re ready… continue to read.”_

Naruto immediately got nervous over his seal. What if it was wrong? What if he got stuck? His dreams would be over. Naruto double-checked his seals and took a breath. He’d spent two weeks on them, he should be more confident in himself. Naruto sighed and clutched the scroll again. “_Now is the moment of truth. You try it out now. Throw the Kunai, or use whatever medium that you’re using for your marker, and teleport to it. You’ll fell a sudden jerk in your navel and __you follow it, then you’ll__ (hopefully) have just used the Flying Thunder God.” _Naruto grabbed his kunai and went into his backyard. Naruto clutched his Kunai and whipped it in the direction of the tree in his backyard. Naruto indeed felt the jerk calling him to the Kunai that was flying through the air. Naruto allowed himself to be taken into it and he felt the weird sensation that he was being squeezed through a tube, and suddenly he was in midair where his Kunai was. “Whoa!” Naruto yelled. Naruto’s chakra had taken a slight hit, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as he expected it to be. Naruto grinned as he dreamed up ideas of how he could utilize his new jutsu in battle.

Some days went by and it was the day of the Chunin Exam Finals. Naruto walked down to the arena. Almost everyone was there, but there were two people that were missing, Dosu and Sasuke. Naruto walked over to Sakura. Her appearance had changed greatly. She now wore a trench coat like Anko’s and she wore a red shirt with white accents under it. He’d noticed that she had a new bracelet that had an intricate snake design on it. “Have you seen Sasuke? I know he wouldn’t miss the finals, he’d been excited about them.” Naruto said. “I haven’t saw him at all, I’m worried.” Sakura replied. “I’m sure it isn’t anything to worry about, Sensei was watching over him, nothing could’ve happened to him. It’s probably that Kakashi Sensei’s bad habits are rubbing off on Sasuke.”Naruto said.. “I hope so. His match is later in the first round anyways.” Sakura replied. “Are you ready for these exams Sakura? Have you trained?” Naruto asked. “Yes, Kakashi Sensei introduced me to Anko. She taught me a lot, I think I’ll be ready.” Sakura said. “Anko? That would explain the trench coat.” Naruto said. Sandaime had been chatting with the new examiners, presumably about Sasuke’s whereabouts. They finally stopped and began the exams. “Thank you everyone for coming to the Hidden Leaf Chunin Exam! We will now start the main tournament matches with our 11 participants who made it through the preliminaries.”

“Hold on _eleven? _I thought there was 12 of us.” Naruto began as he examined the genin standing among him. “Dosu isn’t here. Something must’ve happened to him.” Naruto said lowly. The examiner walked up. “Before the matches start I want you to examine the tournament bracket. Some changes have been made, check again to see who you’re fighting.” he said. Naruto checked the paper and he now had an extra match. He had to fight Kaori, and the winner of that fight went on to fight Neji. “Well it looks like I won’t have to wait to fight you.” Kaori sneered. “Examiner, what will happen to Sasuke?” Sakura asked. “If he doesn’t show up in time for his fight he’ll be disqualified.” he said. Naruto turned to Sakura. “Now isn’t the time to be worrying about Sasuke. You have to worry about yourself and your fight.” Sakura stood tall. “You’re right, thank you Naruto.” Sakura said.

“Alright guys, this is the final test. My name is Genma Shiranui, the new examiner. The arena is different but the rules are the same. You fight until one of you dies or acknowledges defeat. If I determine the fight is over I’ll stop it, you got that?” he asked. “Now the first fight is Naruto Uzumaki versus Kaori. Those two stay here, while the rest of you go to the waiting room.” Genma said. “Good luck.” Sakura encouraged as she walked into the waiting room with the rest of the Genin. Naruto was left looking in the eyes of Kaori. “I’m going to put you down _again._” Naruto said. “I’m not the same as I was before. I didn’t waste the month of training. I hope you have new tricks, there’s no water for you to use here.” Kaori taunted. “Now the first match, begin!” Genma announced as he backed away.

Naruto and Kaori immediately dashed at each other clashed kunai to kunai. Kaori’s Kunai got caught between the prongs of Naruto’s kunai and Naruto twisted it, making Kaori’s kunai fly away. Naruto followed up with a kick to the stomach, sending Kaori into a nearby tree. Kaori quickly recovered and ran through handsigns “Lava Release: Scorching Stream Rock Jutsu!” Kaori yelled as he sent a flurry of molten lava rocks at Naruto. Naruto ran through handsigns “Water Release: Water Formation Wall!” Naruto unleashed a stream of water that stopped the Lava in its tracks and created steam. Naruto felt a burn on his back and Naruto turned around to see Kaori’s fists with Lava surrounding them. Kaori began making handsigns, bit his thumb and yelled “Summoning Jutsu!” a large tiger appeared. This tiger had a scar running down his face and Kaori jumped on it’s back. “Shred him!” Kaori yelled as the tiger dashed at him quicker than he could react, and it clawed him in his side.

_Can’t let that happen too many times. It’s claws sting like crazy. _Naruto thought. As he saw the Tiger preparing to pounce on him. Naruto scattered multiple of his marked kunai across the arena. Since Naruto couldn’t react to his speed, the Flying Thunder God would be able to. The tiger pounced at him and Naruto blinked to his Kunai that was near a tree. Naruto began running though handsigns and yelled “Water Release: Starch Capturing Field!” as he expelled a high viscosity pool stream of water at the tiger’s feet. The Tiger lifted tried to lift his feet out of it but he was unable to. Kaori jumped off of his summoning and released it. “So you can use your father’s jutsu as well? I have to beat you now, before you become a serious threat to Iwa.” Kaori said as he began making handsigns. “Lava Release: Lava Dragon Jutsu!” he yelled as a dragon made of molten lava shot at Naruto, who had to teleport to avoid it.

“You’ve wasted your chakra for no reason, your jutsu are too slow.” Naruto taunted. “I didn’t waste my chakra, in fact I created that lava to save some chakra.” Kaori said as he made handsigns and slammed his hands into the ground. “Lava Golem Jutsu!” he yelled. All of the Lava that he’d made during the battle began pooling together and it created the Lava Golem. His Golem immediately after forming took a shot at Naruto, a fist slammed into the ground where Naruto was but he swiftly avoided it. “You won’t be able to get rid of my Lava Golem this time. You aren’t near a lake so you won’t be able to do that jutsu again.” Kaori said, as he stood on the shoulder of his Lava Golem. Naruto made a Rasengan in his hand and clutched his marked kunai with his other hand. Naruto flung his marked kunai at Kaori, who avoided it, but Naruto blinked to his marked Kunai, caught it, and slammed the Rasengan into the back of Kaori, leaving his marker as well. Kaori fell to the ground, and surprised Naruto when he got up and he wasn’t too hurt.

“Remember, the Yondaime is Iwa’s worst enemy. I know that you can teleport to those pesky kunai, all Iwa ninja do. So I covered my back with molten lava at the last second, to reduce the damage of whatever blow you would deal to me.” Kaori said, as he was panting. “How did you know I wouldn’t just go for your neck and kill you?” Naruto asked. “Because you’re a Leaf ninja. You’re soft. You didn’t kill me the first time we fought, even though you could’ve. So I knew that you wouldn’t attack with the intention to kill me.” Kaori said. Naruto blinked to the marker he’d placed on Kaori’s back and held his Kunai to his neck. “Leaf ninja aren’t soft, we just use aggression when it’s necessary.” Naruto said lowly as he placed a quick chop to Kaori’s neck, knocking him out.

“The winner of this match is Naruto Uzumaki!” Genma announced as the crowd roared. Naruto picked up on some of the chatter in the crowd. “I’m glad I bet on the son of Yondaime.” “The son of Yondaime is incredible, I’m telling you he’s going to win it all.” “He already mastered his father’s jutsu? He’s a prodigy!” Naruto looked up at one person, Sandaime. The old man had a bemused look on his face. Neji jumped down to the arena as the crowd began to quiet down. “Neji, I told you that if we met in the finals I was going to take you down. I’ll make good on my promise.” Naruto said. “You may begin!” Genma announced. Neji activated his Byakugan and Naruto made a handsign and made about a dozen shadow clones and he mixed himself within his clones. Naruto had his clones jump on Neji and the Hyuga began massacring them. Naruto made a handsign and one of his clones exploded and the explosion sent Neji flying backwards near one of his marked kunai.

Naruto blinked to his Kunai and went to deal a blow to Neji, but when Naruto punched him he began glowing blue and then he began rotating, sending Naruto flying backwards. Neji quickly dashed to Naruto and tried to strike one of Naruto’s chakra points but Naruto blinked to one of his kunai. Naruto made a shadow clone and flung one of his marked kunai and began making handsigns “Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!” he yelled and his marked kunai multiplied. They all flew at Neji who used his Rotation to deflect them all. Both Naruto and his clone teleported to two of the marked kunai that had been deflected. They both began making handsigns “Wind Release: Divine Wind!” Naruto yelled as he and his clone released two opposing gusts of wind that formed a tornado. Neji had been picked up by the tornado and was caught in it. Naruto created another clone to throw him at the top of the tornado. Naruto began making handsigns and yelled “Water Release: Tearing Torrent!” as he created a small spiraling vortex in his hand that he shot at the tornado and it created a solid barrier to trap Neji, who was already getting diced by the wind. “Typhoon Water Vortex Jutsu!” Naruto yelled, announcing his fully completed jutsu.

The jutsu ran it’s course and Neji was released from it and he began to fall. Not giving Neji the chance to recover, Naruto launched four kunai at Neji, binding him to a tree by his clothing. He then blinked to them and held his kunai to Neji’s neck. “The winner of this match is Naruto Uzumaki!” Genma announced. “Before they take you away I want you to know, we all control our own destiny. What you become is up to you. Whether it’s the Hokage, a Chunin, or even the owner of a Ramen shop. You have to take control of your own life, blaming others for things won’t get you anywhere.” Naruto said as he freed him from the tree so he could be taken away on a gurney. Naruto retrieved all of his marked kunai from the battlefield and went up into the stands. Naruto passed Sakura who was coming down for her match. “Nice job Naruto you did great.” she said. “Thanks, good luck on your match.” Naruto replied.

Misumi went down to the arena as well. “The third match begins now!” he said. Misumi began extended his arm and tried to grab Sakura and she kicked his arm away. Misumi ran at Sakura, trying to attack her with his kunai but she blocked his kunai with her own. As she did, Misumi extended his limbs, wrapping around Sakura and her arms making her unable to move. “You won’t be able to get out of this, I win.” Misumi said arrogantly. Sakura smirked and a moment later everyone realized what she was smirking about. “W-What is this?” Misumi asked as he loosened his grip, he couldn’t move his arms, nor retract them to their normal state. “It’s poison. It won’t kill you, but it will paralyze you for a while. It should be enough time for me to do what I have to.” Sakura said as she elbowed him in the gut and freed herself. “Where did it come from?” he asked. “Why would I tell you that?” Sakura said as she began inflicting a fierce beating on Misumi. She threw a barrage of kicks at him, and Misumi couldn’t even bring his hands up to defend himself. Misumi was bloodied and he was panting. He was finally able to retract his arms and he grabbed Sakura by the neck. “Screw this, I’m going to kill you for pushing me this far. He said as he began to constrict her neck.

Naruto wanted to jump in and help, but he also didn’t want Sakura to lose her match. Sakura weakly lifted her arm up and snakes shot out from her sleeves subtly. The snakes traveled through the ground and they sprung out. Her snakes fangs found Misumi’s neck and Sakura said. “I can have my snake administer a lethal poison. You’ll be dead in seconds. Oh, and I’ve already had them deliver a paralyzing poison, that should be taking effect soon.” Misumi’s arm went limp again and Sakura still had her snake’s fangs in his neck. “I give up.” Misumi said and Naruto began to cheer along with the crowd. “Nice job Sakura, that was incredible!” Naruto said.

Sakura walked back to the stands with the Genin. “I’m surprised that you are able to summon snakes now. Even if you trained with Anko, I didn’t think you would want to learn to summon snakes considering what happened with Orochimaru in the forest.” Naruto said. “I said the same thing to Anko Sensei, but she convinced me. She told me that strength is strength, just because Orochimaru used snakes doesn’t mean that he owns them. She said that I should make them my own.” Sakura said. “She’s right, and you’ve gotten much stronger.” Naruto said. “The next fight is Kankuro vs Shino!” Genma announced. “I forfeit!” Kankuro yelled. Soon as Kankuro quit, Temari used her fan to float down to the arena. “Looks like you’re eager. Shikamaru, hurry up and get down here, it’s your match.” he said.

Shikamaru was hesitating whether he should just quit too, and Naruto noticed this and he gave him a slight “push” in the right direction and he pushed him down into the arena. “Good luck Shikamaru!” Naruto said. “I hate you…” Shikamaru replied. “What… are you going to quit too?” Temari asked. “If you don’t come, I will!” Temari said as she began running at Shikamaru. “Hey, I didn’t even start the match yet!” Genma said. Temari brought her fan down, trying to strike Shikamaru, but he swiftly dodged. “You know, I don’t really want to fight, nor do I care if I become a Chunin or not. But I won’t lose to a girl.” Shikamaru said as he vanished into the trees. Shikamaru threw out his shadow, trying to catch Temari off-guard but she managed to dodge him and record his range by drawing a line in the ground with her fan.

Temari swung her fan and yelled “Sickle Weasel Jutsu!” as a huge gust of wind came from her fan that could be felt from the stands. Something began floating towards Temai, but Shikamaru threw a Kunai to keep her distracted from it. Temari dodged the Kunai and almost didn’t realized the makeshift parachute that Shikamaru made. Shikamaru began using his jutsu and his shadow shot out much farther from the range that Temari had previously recorded. Temari barely avoided his shadow. Temari marked Shikamaru’s new range, accounting for his makeshift parachute and she opened her fan and stood behind it, thinking for a moment. When she tried to move, she couldn’t. “Shadow Possession Jutsu Complete!” Shikamaru said, moving apart his hands. “How?!” Temari asked. “Turn around, I’ll let you.” Shikamaru said, turning his head. When Temari turned her head she saw a tunnel. “That’s where Sakura had her snakes dig through the ground and spring up to get Misumi. I used it to extend my shadow.” Shikamaru explained.

“Shikamaru’s strategy was impressive. He had been trying to get her to that tunnel for the whole fight.” Naruto said. Shikamaru and Temari began walking towards each other, due to the jutsu. Shikamaru raised his hand. “I quit!” he said, and everyone was visibly surprised. “I don’t have any more chakra left, and I don’t want to continue fighting anymore.” he explained. “Winner, Temari!” Genma announced. The crowd realized it was Sasuke’s fight and everyone was asking where he was. “Sasuke…” Sakura said softly. “Don’t worry. Like I said, Sasuke wouldn’t miss this. He would drag himself out of bed or anywhere else to be here. I have no doubts that he’ll be here soon.” Naruto said. Just as Naruto finished his sentence, a leaf fell from the sky, and in a flurry of leaves, Sasuke and Kakashi were in the arena. “The show-off.” Naruto smirked. “Sorry we’re late.” Kakashi said. “You’re name?” Genma asked. “Sasuke Uchiha.” Sasuke replied.

Naruto appeared next to Sasuke and Kakashi. “Don’t lose here. I had to beat _two_ people to get to you, Sasuke.” Naruto proclaimed. “I won’t lose here.” Sasuke said, and Naruto smirked as he went back to his seat. Kakashi went to the area that both Sakura and Naruto were waiting. “Both of my students won their fights. Now Sasuke has to follow through so I’ll have all the bragging rights.” Kakashi said. “That mark, is it gone?” Sakura asked. “You shouldn’t worry. It won’t trouble Sasuke anymore.” Kakashi said. “You shouldn’t have missed my fight! I had a surprise for you.” Naruto said. “A surprise? Show me then.” Kakashi said. “I’ll just give you the gist of it.” Naruto said as he created a Rasengan in one hand and one of his marked kunai in his other hand. “S-sensei’s jutsu. You’ve learned both of them?” Kakashi asked. “Yes, I was hoping that you could see me in action, it might’ve brought back some old memories of my father.” Naruto said. “Sasuke’s fight is starting.” Sakura said as they looked down at the arena. Sasuke and Gaara were facing off against each other.

Gaara immediately started to attack with his sand and Sasuke jumped back quickly to avoid it. Sasuke launched a couple of kunai at Gaara, who blocked it with his sand, and that sand turned into a clone that caught them. Sasuke swung his leg at the clone, who blocked it. Sasuke then followed up with a blow to the neck that worked, but the sand began trapping Sasuke’s hand inside of it. Sasuke thrust his palm to destroy the sand Clone and attack Gaara who’s sand that immediately moved to protect him. Sasuke shifted his pivot and appeared behind Lee and delivered a punch to Gaara’s cheek that sent him flying. “He’s much faster it seems.” Naruto said. “Is that that armor of sand I heard about?” Sasuke asked as he flicked his hand. “Come on, so I can tear it all off “

Sasuke flung himself back into action, kicking him before he sand could protect him. Then Sasuke began running in circles quickly to confuse Gaara’s sand, then he struck, placing a kick on Gaara’s chin. Before Gaara could go flying Sasuke grabbed Gaara’s clothes and kneed him in the stomach. When Sasuke let go of him there were plenty of cracks on Gaara’s face, Sasuke had been making good on his promise to take Gaara’s sand armor down. Gaara then made a handsign and his Sand began to surround him in a dome. Sasuke began running to hit Gaara before it could fully form, but his hands bled once he made contact with the dense sand. “Damn it Gaara, once he gets like this we can’t stop him. Does he want to mess up the plan?” Temari whispered. _Plan? What plan?_ Naruto thought as Sasuke began back-flipping up the wall. Sasuke began running through handsigns and Lightning began gathering in Sasuke’s hand. “You taught him the Lightning Blade?” Naruto asked. “No. I taught him the Chidori. It’s a step below the lightning blade, its a jutsu I made when I tried to add my lightning chakra nature to the Rasengan.” Kakashi said. “You knew the Rasengan? You could’ve just taught me then, I didn’t even have to get the pervert to teach me.” Naruto said. “A pervert that knows the Rasengan? Are you talking about Jiraiya of the Sanin?” Kakashi asked and Naruto nodded.

“Where did you meet him? Is he in Konoha?” Kakashi asked. “Yes, he is. I met him at the hot springs.” Naruto said, returning his attention to the fight. Sasuke began running at Gaara, picking up speed. Once his speed reached it’s maximum, Sasuke thrust the Chidori into the dome of sand Gaara was in and he penetrated through. For a moment, there was complete silence then a scream rang out “Uwaaaaah! Blood! My blood!” Gaara yelled as Sasuke tried to get his hand out. He then generated lighting to free his hand and once he pulled his hand out, something was attached to it. It was an arm of sand black tips on it. Gaara came out of his sand with his hand clutching his shoulder with lots of blood coming from it. “He was wounded!” Naruto said. Then Naruto started seeing feathers in front of his eyes. “Wha- feathers… this must be genjutsu!” Naruto said as he made a handsign “Kai Release!” and he looked to the Hokage booth to see that the Kazekage had Sandaime in a choke hold with a Kunai to his neck. “Sandaime!!” Naruto yelled.

Naruto went to throw one of his marked kunai to teleport to the Hokage but Kakashi stopped him. “The Hokage can handle himself, besides, that’s a Kage level fight. Help us then the herd.” Kakashi said. “Right!” Naruto replied as he unleashed a volley of his marked kunai into the battlefield. Naruto teleported to his kunai that he threw into the stands as three Oto ninja that were getting ready to attack Ino. Naruto pierced two of them with his chains, and slammed a Rasengan into the face of one of them. “Thank you Naruto.” Ino said. “No problem. Go with Kakashi Sensei and Sakura, we all need to stick together.” Naruto said. Naruto teleported to one of his Kunai that was near Sasuke, who was preparing to run after Gaara who was escaping with his siblings. “Sasuke, if you’re going to chase after them, take one of these.” Naruto said as he gave him one of his marked kunai. “Throw that Kunai when you’re in trouble. I’ll know, and I’ll come for sure. I’m going to help out here.” Naruto said. “Alright, I’m going after them now.” Sasuke said as he jumped out of the arena to follow them and Naruto teleported back to Kakashi. “You guys are going to go after. Consider it a mission. Take yourself, Sakura and Ino.” Kakashi said. “I gave him one of my marked kunai, If he’s really in trouble I can get to him.” Naruto said. “Good, your fourth member is Pakkun” Kakashi said as he summoned the smallest of his ninken. “Pakkun, I need you to track Sasuke’s scent. Naruto, you’re the leader in this mission, be sure to keep everyone safe. I’m sure you already know what Gaara is, seeing that you’re one too, so be very careful. Avoid combat unless it’s necessary.” Kakashi said. “I will.” Naruto said.

Naruto, Ino, Sakura and Pakkun left the arena and quickly began running through the forest. “Guys, pick up the pace. We’re being followed. There are nine men chasing us.” Pakkun said. “Already?” Ino asked. “They don’t have a lock on our position yet, but they’re closing in on us. Be on the lookout of surprise attacks.” Pakkun said. “No, I’ll stay back, and divert their ambush.” Naruto said. “No, you can’t, you’ll die if there’s nine of them.” Ino said. “No I won’t.” Naruto said as he made a handsign. “Shadow Clone Jutsu.” Naruto said as he made a clone. “I can teleport to any one of my marked kunai. So once I finish them off, I’ll have my shadow clone throw this kunai, and I’ll come back here quickly.” Naruto said. “Are you that confident in your abilities?” Ino asked. “Yes, I got this. If I get into trouble and can’t beat them, I’ll still have my shadow clone throw the kunai, and I’ll get out of any danger.” Naruto assured. “Be safe Naruto.” Sakura said. “I know.” Naruto replied as he let them continue advancing. Naruto stood back and waited for them in a clearing.

“Did the rest of the group leave you to die? Or were you stupid enough to think that you are able to take all of us on.” the Oto ninja said. There were suddenly eight ninja in front of him. _Pakkun said that there were nine men following us. One of them must be staying back._ Naruto thought. “If you think it’ll be that easy to kill me… why don’t your ninth man reveal his location, seeing that I’m going to die anyways.” Naruto said. “Fine, take his head off once you come out.” the oto nin said as the tree behind him rustled and Naruto turned around and Naruto slammed a Rasengan into the man’s chest as he tried to take Naruto out. Naruto looked at the rest of them and smirked. Naruto made a handsign and took a deep breath, gathering compressed air in his core. “Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!” Naruto said as he released that compressed air into a blade of wind that cut through all of them, inflicting grave injuries. Naruto then had his clone throw his marked kunai and he appeared in front of his clone. “That was fast.” Sakura said. “That’s the point.” Naruto said.

As they were traveling Naruto had grown increasingly worried about Hiruzen. He was very strong, but if he had to fight both Kazkage and Orochimaru he could fall. The Hokage isn’t as young as he used to be and he’s past his prime. Naruto had to stop worrying and focus on his mission, its what he would want. “Sasuke’s movement has stopped. There’s still ways to go.” Pakkun said. “Right, let’s kick it into overdrive.” Naruto said as they began going even faster. “Hold on, there’s someone besides us chasing Sasuke, I don’t know if it’s friend or foe.” Pakkun said. Naruto and the group kept traveling and when they broke through the trees and found a clearing they saw Gaara, who had been half transformed, attacking Sasuke, who looked unable to move. Sasuke weakly tossed Naruto’s kunai and Naruto teleported in front of Sasuke. “Rasengan!” Naruto yelled as he slammed the blue orb into Gaara’s chest, and he was pushed back into a nearby tree. Sakura and Ino immediately tended to Sasuke and Naruto eyed Gaara.

One of Gaara’s arms was covered with sand that formed claws at the end of his hand. There were black lines going through the sand and half of Gaara’s face was covered too. One of his eyes had turned yellow with a black diamond as a pupil and his teeth on that side of his face had elongated. Gaara jumped off his branch and tried to finish off Sasuke. Sakura picked up Sasuke and ran, and before Ino could react she was slammed into the tree by the sand. The sand surrounded her and it was crushing her slowly. “Ino!” Naruto called out. “Help me…!” Ino said as she began to pass out. “Naruto Uzumaki! I wanted to fight you as well.” Gaara said. His voice sounded wrong, he sounded like he was on the edge of madness. Gaara formed another arm of sand and his face became more covered by it. “Are you afraid of me? Afraid of my appearance? My power?” Gaara asked. He became more and more transformed. He had most of his body and his entire face transformed into sand and he had a tail. “No, I’m not afraid. Let go of my friend! She hasn’t done anything to you!” Naruto yelled. “You’ll die trying to protect your friends, they make you weak. I fight only for myself, that is why I am strong. So once I kill you, I’ll kill Sasuke, and that girl will be crushed by my sand, and I’ll do the same to the other one.” “I won’t let you.” Naruto said. “Sand Shuriken!” Gaara yelled as he sent bullets of sand at Naruto.

Naruto flung a volley of his marked shuriken and they found their place in the nearby trees around them. Naruto teleported to one of them and made a handsign “Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!” Naruto yelled as he made a huge blast of wind. Gaara blocked it with his hands and tail as Naruto created about five explosive clones. He had them jump at Gaara and as he attempted to swipe them away, they all exploded on him, to no effect. Naruto teleported to a Kunai that was in a tree opposite of Gaara. He began forming his chakra in his hand and tried to use the Rasengan on Gaara, but he recovered quick enough to grab Naruto and begin crushing him. “Naruto!” Sakura yelled. Naruto quickly teleported to another one of his kunai. _That was close, I probably would’ve been dead there if I didn’t have the Flying Thunder God. _Naruto saw Sasuke standing up to try to help.

“Sasuke, take it easy. Leave it to me!” Naruto said as he activated the one-tailed Kyuubi cloak. Naruto created a thousand clones and about half of them wielded the Rasengan. The clones that didn’t have the Rasengan threw the clones that did at Gaara and as they connected, they damaged Gaara greatly and the rest of his clones threw shuriken at him. A moment later Gaara fully transformed and he dispelled all of Naruto’s clones with a swipe of his tail. The full form of the Shukaku was massive and it towered over Naruto and the rest of the group. Naruto gritted his teeth and bit his thumb and made handsigns “Summoning Jutsu!” Naruto summoned Gamabunta and Naruto and his friends were atop of his head. “Who dares summon me!” Gamabunta asked. “It’s Naruto Uzumaki, son of the Yondaime Hokage, Minato. I need your help.” Naruto said. “Son of the Yondaime eh? You think I’m going to fight a Bijuu for you just because of who your father is?” Gamabunta asked. “No, I’m not as foolish to think that. You don’t have to fight, I just really need your help. I could understand if you don’t want to risk your life to fight my battle.” Naruto said. “Alright, I’ll help you out. I usually have a drink with someone before I allow them to summon me, but we’re in a dicey situation right now.” Gamabunta said. “I think we’re past that point already.” Naruto muttered.

“Since when could you summon toads Naruto?” Sakura asked. “Since this month, I’ll explain later, I have a fight to win.” Naruto said. Gamabunta withdrew his sword and swung but Shukaku swiped him away. Gaara, who was atop the Shukaku’s head made a handsign and he fell asleep.“Gahaha, I haven’t been let out in a while! I’ll kill you all and I’ll rampage in that village.” he said. “Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!” Shukaku yelled as he released a huge gust of wind. “Jump Gamabunta!” Naruto yelled and Gamabunta jumped. “Give me some water!” Naruto yelled. “Water Release: Gunshot!” Gamabunta yelled as he released a bunch of huge blasts of water. “Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!” Naruto yelled and sent a gust of wind at them, to increase their force. Shukaku replied by sending another blast of wind that canceled out Naruto and Gamabunta’s attack. “To get rid of the Shukaku you’ll have to wake the kid up. The Shukaku can only take over once the host falls asleep.” Gamabunta said

“Throw me at him.” Naruto said. “What?” Gamabunta asked. “Just do it, after you do, can you please put my friends back on the ground and after that you can go back to Mount Myoboku. I’m sorry I dragged you into this fight.” Naruto said. “Alright kid, we have to have that drink sometime you aren’t bad. You remind me of your father.” Gamabunta said as he grabbed Naruto and threw him directly at the Shukaku. Naruto went flying at the Shukaku and used one of his Kunai and threw it at Shukaku’s head, as he made a Rasengan in his hand. As soon as the Kunai flew past Gaara’s head, Naruto teleported to it and slammed the Rasengan into his back. “Nooo! I’ve only just come out!” Shukaku yelled as it crumbled into sand and the sand broke both Gaara and Naruto’s fall to the ground. Gaara and Naruto were both exhausted, but Naruto was in better shape than Gaara. “H-how are you so strong…? Gaara asked weakly. “I was alone, lonelier than anyone except Sasuke. The pain that you’ve felt, I felt it too. So when the people who saved me from that loneliness are threatened, I have to save them. When you threatened to hurt them, I had to beat you. If you try to kill them, I will stop you. Because they rescued me from that hell that we both know, that hell of loneliness.” Naruto said. Naruto looked over to Ino to see that the sand that had been crushing her crumbled, and that she was being helped by Sakura.

“It’s over… let’s go back to the village.” Sasuke said. As they all traveled back to the Chunin Exams Arena, Naruto saw a crack in Hiruzen’s face on the Hokage monument. Naruto didn’t believe in stuff like that, but when he saw it, he knew what happened, but Naruto didn’t want to believe it. Once they got back to the arena Naruto found everyone huddled around the Hiruzen. Hiruzen was on the floor, it was obvious he had bled out, his shirt was torn and he had a swirl on his chest. “J-Jii-san, don’t tell me…” Naruto began, not even wanting to finish his sentence. Tears came to Naruto’s eyes. Hiruzen was the first person to acknowledge him. He trained him, taught him everything he knew about being a Shinobi. He was gone. “He fought against Orochimaru and that bastard resurrected the First and Second Hokage. He had to fight against his old Sensei’s and that twisted bastard Orochimaru. With his last breath, he sealed away Orochimaru’s arms, he can no longer use them.” Jiraiya said.

Two days later Naruto attended Sandaime’s funeral, it was a rainy day, like even the sky was crying. Naruto was next to Iruka and Konohamaru, who was crying. “Sandaime had this saying that he always told me when I was younger but I never understood it, but I think I do now. When the tree leaves dance, one shall find flames. The fire’s shadow will illuminate the village, and once again, tree leaves shall bud anew.” Naruto recited. “Your grandfather is the Hokage, his job is to protect the Leaf from all threats, so he would’ve been okay with dying so we, the next generation, can grow. That’s the Hokage’s job and your grandfather understood this better than anyone.” Naruto said. “Well stated, Naruto. That is exactly what he would want you to know. If you want to be the greatest Hokage that surpasses all of your predecessors, you must understand this well.” Iruka said.

The next day Naruto went to Ichiraku’s to eat ramen and reminisce of all the times Hiruzen had taken him there. Naruto was overflowing with memories of Hiruzen treating him to ramen, training him, and scolding him for playing pranks. The one who broke him out of his emotional upheaval was Jiraiya. “I’ve heard that you come here a lot, they weren’t wrong.” Jiraiya said. “What are you doing here?” Naruto asked. “I want you to come along with me on a trip. I’m trying to find the other Sanin, Tsunade. The elders wanted me to be Hokage, but I’m not suited towards the job, nor do I want it. But Tsunade would be perfect for it.” Jiraiya explained. “So you want me to come along to find her? I’ll go with you, if you’ll give me some training along the way.” Naruto replied. “Alright, pack your bags and meet me at the entrance of Konoha right after.” Jiraiya said as he disappeared. Naruto went home and packed himself a bag and met Jiraiya at the village gates. “Are you ready to go?” Jiraiya asked. “Yeah, let’s go.” Naruto replied.


	7. Search For Tsunade

After some time of traveling, Naruto and Jiraiya arrived at a small town. They checked in at a local hotel and Jiraiya said “Naruto, we’re staying here today.” then an attractive women walked in the hotel and gave an alluring gaze to Jiraiya. “Naruto! Take the room key and go to room 12, I have _adult_ business to take care of.” Jiraiya said enthusiastically. Naruto reluctantly obeyed and went to their room. He picked his bed and placed his backpack on it and soon after he heard a knock. Naruto went to open the door, thinking it was Jiraiya, and as he opened he saw Itachi Uchiha. Dark hair, a fully developed Sharingan, and a face that resembled Sasuke’s, it could only be him. “Naruto Uzumaki, you’re coming with us.” Itachi said softly. Naruto knew he stood no chance in a fight, so his thought was immediately running from him, but the door opened even more to reveal another man behind Itachi. This man had a huge blade wrapped in gauze and he had a blue face with a Kiri hitai-ate on. “Come out of the room.” Itachi said, and Naruto obeyed, stepping into the hallway.

“I don’t want him to run, perhaps I’ll chop one of his legs off.” the other man said. Itachi didn’t give a reaction so he began clutching his blade, preparing to do the deed. Naruto was ready to run then and there until Itachi said “It’s been awhile… Sasuke.” Naruto turned to see Sasuke standing behind them. “Itachi Uchiha… I’m here to kill you.” Sasuke said darkly. Naruto wasn’t liking where this was going at all. “Hold on, I thought you massacred all of the Uchiha, so who is he?” the man asked. “He’s my younger brother.” Itachi said. Sasuke began making handsigns and his hand began to blaze with the Chidori. “I wanted you to know, that I’ve lived hating you, and that my life’s only purpose, has been to kill you. I’ve lived for this!” Sasuke roared as he ran at Itachi with his Chidori. Itachi merely grabbed his wrist, redirected the Chidori, and with a sharp snap, he broke Sasuke’s wrist and Sasuke shrieked Naruto began making handsigns, molding his chakra and with a slash from the other man’s blade, Naruto felt like all the chakra that he’d gathered had left him. _I should’ve known, I read about this blade. This is Samehada, the most terrifying of all the Seven Swordsmen’s blades. It supposedly eats chakra, and it seems that they weren’t joking about that. How am I going to get out of here?_ Naruto thought. “My blade eats chakra, and now that I see you aren’t trying to cooperate, I’ll have it chop off one of those arms of yours so you won’t be able to make handsigns.” he said as he began swinging his blade. Naruto withdrew one of his kunai to block it, but suddenly an armored toad blocked it for him.

“My hero.” Naruto sighed as he knew Jiraiya had saved him. “You guys tried to draw my attention away, so you cast a genjutsu on this defenseless woman. You really are after Naruto.” Jiraiya said. Naruto was shocked for a while but he knew why they were after him, it had to be because of the Kyuubi. “No wonder Kakashi knew about this, you were the source of information. Our mission is to abduct Naruto, these orders were given to us by the higher ups of the Akatsuki.” Itachi said. “You won’t get Naruto, because right here and now, you’ll both die by my hand.” Jiraiya said. “D-Don’t do it!” Sasuke yelled as he stood to his feet. “This guy is mine!” he continued. “I have no interest in you right now.” Itachi said. “Well get interested!” Sasuke replied as he ran up to Itachi again. Itachi quickly punched him in his stomach and Sasuke doubled over and spit out blood. Itachi followed up by grabbing his neck and slamming him into the wall. Then Itachi looked Sasuke in his eyes and they all heard a horrific scream. Naruto felt the overwhelming urge to go help Sasuke, but he knew it wouldn’t be what he wanted, he also knew that he couldn’t stand a chance against Itachi.

Jiraiya made a handsign and slammed his hands on the floor and he summoned the toad’s esophagus. Walls of meaty flesh were all around them, and the flesh took Sasuke in before Itachi could harm him further. Just before Sasuke passed out, Itachi whispered something to him. “There is no escape for you both, Itachi and Kisame. You’re now in my toads esophagus, I hope the both of you will enjoy being food to my toad.” Jiraiya said. Naruto was surprised that Jiraiya could summon specific body parts of the toad, he hadn’t heard of that before. “Kisame, come!” Itachi said as he began running, and Kisame did the same. “You won’t escape!” Jiraiya said as he slammed his hands on the ground once more, trying to close up their only escape, the window. Jiraiya successfully closed it up before they could run out of it, but Itachi burned through his wall of flesh with black flames.

“Black flames? I’ve never heard of this before. Have you?” Naruto asked. “No, but be sure not to go near it.” Jiraiya replied as he pulled out a blank scroll and quickly wrote out a seal and began making handsigns. The black fire retreated into the scroll and the kanji for seal appeared in the middle. Jiraiya went back to retrieve Sasuke from his wall of flesh and Naruto kept looking at where the black fire had burned the wall of flesh. It had intrigued him. Suddenly someone came flying inside and he almost kicked Naruto but he dodged at the last moment. “Were you trying to take me out Gai Sensei?” Naruto asked. “No, I knew you guys were fighting Itachi, and I attacked using the reflection from my hitai-ate. The image wasn’t clear, besides that how is Sasuke?” Gai asked. “His physical injuries aren’t that bad, he has a broken wrist and other minor injuries. The psychological damage is the real problem.” Jiraiya said. “Kakashi is in the same condition, he was hit by Itachi’s visual jutsu, he hasn’t recovered fully at all and most likely he’ll need a medical specialist to further his recovery, just as Sasuke, and even my student Lee.” Gai said. “That’s the reason we’ve left, to seek out Tsunade.” Jiraiya said.

“That’s good, I’ll take Sasuke here back to Konoha and get him the rest he needs.” Gai said as he carried Sasuke over his shoulder. “Alright, good luck finding Tsunade. I’ll take good care of Sasuke.” Gai said as they left. Naruto wanted to press the issue of who were those people and why they were after him, but Jiraiya looked like he didn’t want to talk about it at the moment. Once they’d started traveling again Naruto asked. “Who were those guys and why were they after me?” Naruto had a good idea, but he wanted to hear it from Jiraiya. “That was Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, both of them are S-class missing ninja, wanted for crimes is their countries. They are a part of an organization that are hunting tailed-beasts, including the one inside you, the Kyuubi.” Jiraiya said. “Is the organization filled with S-class ninja?” Naruto asked. “Yes, and ninja like that don’t gather for no reason. I estimate there are under 10 of them and they are all as powerful as Itachi” Jiraiya said. “What do they plan on doing with the tailed-beasts after they gather them.” Naruto asked. “I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s anything that’s pleasant.” Jiraiya said.

Naruto was surprised a group like that was hunting him, he thought that Iwa was bad enough. “It seems like I have to get even stronger.” Naruto said. “Yes you do. You’re very strong, one of the strongest in the village now that you’ve mastered both the Rasengan and the Flying Thunder God. But you aren’t on the level of an S-rank ninja yet, but you’ll get there.” Jiraiya said. “How did you find out about me learning the Flying Thunder God?” Naruto asked. “News gets around fast. The villagers were absolutely buzzing at the fact that you’ve learned your father’s jutsu at such a young age. I heard the chatter while I was researching.” Jiraiya said. “Speaking of my strengths, what do you plan on teaching me during this trip?” Naruto asked. “Well I have plenty of things that I can teach you, but none of them will be impressive as the Rasengan or the Flying Thunder God. Besides that, we need to focus on finding Tsunade. Once we get to the next town we can gather information.” Jiraiya stated. “What does Tsunade look like?” Naruto asked. “She’s as old as I am, but you’d never know. She uses a Transformation Jutsu to hide her age, it makes her appear as she did in her twenties. She does it to elude debtors.” Jiraiya said.

“We can gather information on her in this town.” Jiraiya said as they finally approached a town. It was bustling and the town was flooded with people. It seemed like a festival of sorts were going on as excited people walked the streets. “This place should be good for gathering information. Go enjoy the festival and I’ll be doing the information gathering.” Jiraiya said. “Alright, meet at this point in a few hours?” Naruto asked. “Sure kid.” Jiraiya replied. Naruto went out to enjoy the festival. He ate some good food, won some of the festival games using his training (beforehand slipping off his hitai-ate so they don’t know he’s a ninja), and generally had a good time. Just before the sun finished setting, he and Jiraiya met up again. “I haven’t gathered any good info, but we aren’t leaving this village yet. I’m gonna check us in to a hotel, tomorrow we’ll begin your training.” Jiraiya said.

The next day Jiraiya took Naruto outside of that town to train. “Alright kid, time to train. Now from what I’ve heard from Kakashi, you have a good grasp on both Wind and Water Release. If you want to become a more versatile ninja, you should learn how to use more Nature Transformations. It will you a bunch of more options in battle.” Jiraiya said. “I was planning on it, but I got caught up in learning my mother and father’s jutsu. What do you plan on teaching me?” Naruto asked. “Fire Release. Although it’s the most common nature transformation in the Land of Fire, it still is very useful. The toads of Mount Myoboku can create oil will enhance your fire and save you the chakra of creating huge fire jutsu. So one of the most basic fire jutsu that I know is the Flame Bullet. I’ll demonstrate.” Jiraiya said, and Naruto stood back.

Jiraiya made handsigns and yelled “Fire Release: Flame Bullet!” as he exhaled a huge flame bullet. “So the first thing to this jutsu is that you have to build up oil in your belly, then you spit it out and exhale flame. You do it all so quickly that nobody notices the oil.” Jiraiya said. “Oil is like water, but more viscous and you’re able to ignite it. Focus on the that first.” Jiraiya explained. “Alright, show me those handsigns again?” Naruto said. _Snake-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger_ Jiraiya demonstrated. Naruto made the handsigns and gathered the viscous fluid in his belly “Fire Release: Flame Bullet!” he said as he expelled some oil and he lit it ablaze by exhaling flame. He made a small Flame Bullet, nothing compared to the size of Jiraiya’s. “Impressive for your first try, but you’ll have to create much more oil. You have to create a lot of oil, so you don’t have to generate more flames, which takes more chakra. Naruto began making the handsigns again and gathered a great amount of oil in his belly and spit out a huge ball of oil and then quickly lit it ablaze, creating a Flame Bullet that rivaled Jiraiya’s first Flame Bullet. “You catch on fast kid, that was all that I had to teach you for today. To tell you the truth, you aren’t that far away from Itachi’s level. You’re a genius, just like he is. The only thing that he has under his belt that you don’t is experience and his Kekkei Genkai.” Jiraiya said.

“I thought my training would prepare me for things like that, but I was wrong. Once I encountered them my logic went out of the window, in hindsight there were probably plenty of things I could’ve done to escape.” Naruto said. “It’s just a matter of experience kid, but once you get it, you’ll be at that level. At that level you still can’t beat everyone, but you can give almost anyone a good fight.” Jiraiya said. “Get some rest kid, tomorrow I’ll continue gathering information. You should work on individual training for a while, it’ll do you some good.” Jiraiya said. The next day when Naruto woke up, Jiraiya was already gone. Either, Jiraiya must’ve started gathering information much earlier than he did the last time or Naruto must’ve slept in. After Naruto got up and ready, he went into town. He encountered Jiraiya coming back to the hotel. “Good news kid, I got a lead. Tsunade is in a town called Tanzaku, it’s not too far away from here. I’m going to check out of the hotel so we can follow up immediately.” Jiraiya said. Some time later they were on the road to Tanzaku town.

“I know you said she’s a Sanin like you, and she has to be on another level to be a Sanin, but how good is Tsunade?” Naruto asked as they were walking. “Tsunade has monstrous strength and a temper to match, you _never _want to get on her bad side, believe me, I still have the wounds to prove it. Tsunade’s also the best healer in the world, which is why Gai sought us out. He wants her to heal Kakashi, Sasuke and Lee, who’ve all sustained physical and mental injuries that put them beyond the help of a normal medic.” Jiraiya said. “She must be very good then.” Naruto replied. After they walked for a while, Naruto and Jiraiya were overlooking Tanzaku town. “Naruto, you see that crumbled castle over there? I wonder what could’ve caused that? Let’s go check it out, it might give us a lead on Tsunade’s location.” Jiraiya said. “Sure, let’s go.” Naruto replied as they walked over. Before they could get there though, a panicked man stopped them. “Don’t go over there! That castle was just flattened by a giant snake! It might still be there.” the man said. “Snake?” Naruto asked, as Jiraiya dashed over to the ruined castle. Naruto quickly followed and Jiraiya investigated the scene. “It seems that we’re a bit too late, they were definitely here though. Let’s check out a pub, places like those always have information to be found.

Jiraiya and Naruto walked into a pub as the sky began to darken. Soon as Naruto walked in he saw a woman with blonde hair, a necklace around her neck and a diamond on her forehead, not to mention her chest, which was hard not to notice. She looked like she was in her twenties. There was a woman next to her with black hair and dark eyes. Jiraiya looked over and said “There you are Tsunade.” Tsunade put down her drink and replied “Jiraiya? What are you doing here?” Jiraiya and Naruto sat down and they ordered food. “Today I met with someone that brings back bad memories…” Tsunade said. “Orochimaru? Did anything happen?” Jiraiya asked and both women exchanged a look. “Not much, just a greeting…” she said, but Naruto could tell it was deeper than that, and so could Jiraiya. “Who’s the kid you’ve brought with you?” Tsunade asked. “This is Naruto Uzumaki, a genin I’ve taken an interest in.” Jiraiya answered. Tsunade gave him a look of recognition, she hadn’t known him, but she knew who he was.

“So why have you come to see me?” Tsunade asked, taking a sip of her Sake. “To tell you the truth, Konoha wants you to become the Godaime Hokage.” Jiraiya said. Naruto nearly spat out his food, but he wielded all the self control in his being to not say anything. If what Jiraiya had said was correct, she was very qualified for the job. That didn’t mean that Naruto liked it though. “Sensei is dead… you’re the most qualified for the job.” Jiraiya said. “Orochimaru told me about it when we met earlier.” Tsunade said. “Are you willing to accept becoming the 5th Hokage?” Jiraiya asked. “I decline.” Tsunade said. Everyone at the table was struck by this information, and Naruto could no longer bite his tongue. “Why are you declining the Hokage title? People dream to even be considered for the Hokage seat and you denied it. Why?” Naruto asked. “Listen kid, to become the Hokage, you have to risk your life for the village. It’s a big gamble with your life. Whoever gambles their life so easily is a fool. Your father, the Fourth Hokage risked his life for Konoha and he died young because of it. My grandfather and great-uncle both were the Hokage, who have up their hopes and dreams and forfeited their lives for Konoha like losers.” Tsunade said and Naruto growled.

“You’ve changed Tsunade…” Jiraiya said. “People are supposed to change with age. I see both you and Sensei haven’t. Sarutobi Sensei was too old to be the Hokage at that age, he should’ve named a successor and lived reasonably. Instead he died because he was a fool who could never let go of his dreams. Being the Hokage is a fools errand, and nobody but a fool would want that job.” Tsunade jeered. Naruto’s hands were shaking, he was furious. “Take that back!!” he yelled. “I will do no such thing, it’s the truth.” Tsunade taunted. Naruto began to lunge at Tsunade and Jiraiya stopped him at the last moment. “It would be foolish to attack a Sanin in blind rage Naruto.” he advised. “I don’t care, she doesn’t deserve the title of Sanin, nor the privilege of becoming the Hokage. I can’t forgive anyone who thinks those things of my father and Jii-san!” Naruto yelled. Tsunade stood up “If you’re going to say such things about me, be sure you can back it up. Let’s take this outside.” Tsunade said. “Fine!” Naruto replied, as he threw off his jacket.

Naruto, Tsunade and the rest of the group walked outside. “Naruto, don’t do this. Like I told you, she’s a Sanin like me. This won’t end well for you.” Jiraiya cautioned. “I don’t care.” Naruto said as he dashed Tsunade with one of his father’s kunai in hand. He swung the kunai at her head and she ducked it and went for a blow to Naruto’s side, before she could though, Naruto threw his kunai behind her head and teleported just before impact. Naruto elbowed Tsunade in the back with strength that would make most people stagger, but she stood her ground and flicked Naruto in the head, sending him flying backwards. Naruto clutched his forehead as he stood back up. “Kid, why are you so upset about this Hokage thing?” Tsunade asked. “Because when you called the Hokage fools you insulted two people who are very important to me, even though I never met one of them. Also, because being the Hokage is my dream. I want to become a Hokage that surpasses all of the ones who come before!” Naruto declared, and Tsunade was shocked.

“If you want to fight, get serious. I’m not going to hold back against someone who would say such terrible things about the Hokage title.” Naruto said as he began forming a Rasengan in his hand. Tsunade’s eyes widened “He knows both of those jutsu?” she asked Jiraiya and he nodded. Naruto charged at her, but once he got close enough to strike, Tsunade split the ground wide open with just a finger, trapping Naruto inside. “It doesn’t matter how many flashy jutsu you know kid, if you don’t have the experience to use them efficiently. Also, just copying the Fourth Hokage’s jutsu won’t make you as strong as he was. So I’ll give you a little challenge.” Tsunade said. “Challenge?” Naruto asked. “If you can come up with your own original jutsu that can rival the power of the Rasengan in a week, I’ll give you my necklace, and I’ll even admit that you can become the Hokage.” Tsunade said. Naruto scoffed at the idea, why would he want her necklace? Then he looked at it, and he recognized it from a book he read. “That’s the First Hokage’s necklace.” Naruto said. “I’m surprised a kid like you knows about it. If you sell this necklace you could buy three mountains, but if I win, you have to give up on your dream of becoming the Hokage! So do you accept?” Tsunade asked. “It’s a deal. I’ll come up with something that rivals the Rasengan in a week! Prepare to give up that necklace of yours.” Naruto said.

“Shizune, you and Naruto should find a hotel to stay for the night. I’m going to catch up with my old friend.” Jiraiya said. “Come on Naruto.” Shizune said as they walked to find a hotel. Once they got there, Naruto settled down and relaxed. Shizune walked into his room. “Hey Shizune. What brings you over here?” Naruto asked. “There is something I wanted to tell you, the reason Lady Tsunade has been acting in the manner she has, and why you shouldn’t want that necklace.” Naruto gestured her to sit down, and she continued talking. “Lady Tsunade wasn’t always like this. She was a passionate woman who cared for the village. All that changed because of the Hokage position. Her brother sought after the position. He was no older than you, in fact you both look similar. It was a time of war, and her brother was a kid with something to prove, he was the grandson of the First Hokage and he wanted to make his place in the world. So he rushed off into war, and he died. This was one of the occasions that tore Tsunade’s heart to bits.” Shizune said.

“The second, was after she met a man. He was my brother, he was passionate about the village as she was, and they eventually fell in love. My brother, Dan, he had a dream too. It was the same dream that both Tsunade’s brother and you share. The dream to become the Hokage. Dan went to war, he was in a squad with Tsunade at the time, and he suffered a grave injury. Tsunade tried her very best to save him, b-but his vital organs had been hit.” Shizune said, as she cried. The memory must’ve been a tough one for her. “He died of his injuries, and Tsunade couldn’t save him. After then, Tsunade changed. She became cold, she took me, and she left the village behind. That’s why the Hokage position made her react so harshly. In her mind, that position cost her two loved ones, who died prematurely, chasing that dream. Also, that necklace is a necklace of death. She gave it to both her brother and mine right before they died, it doesn’t acknowledge anyone but her.” Shizune said. “That’s terrible, I’m so sorry to hear that. I understand why she feels the way she does. That doesn’t mean I can accept that behavior. The fact that she feels that way gets me even angrier now, because her own loved ones longed for that position, and she insults them by calling them fools. She also insulted Sandaime, and my father, who both made the ultimate sacrifice for the village.” Naruto said. “Also, she’s the one who wagered the necklace, I didn’t ask for it.” Naruto said as he began walking out of the door. “Where are you going?” Shizune asked. “To train of course.” Naruto said.

Naruto had an idea for a jutsu, but he didn’t know if it would work. His idea was to make a jutsu similar to the Typhoon Water Vortex Jutsu that he used in the Chunin Exams, but much smaller and more compact so he could keep it in his hand like the Rasengan. Naruto knew it would be incredibly difficult to accomplish, but he knew if he could do it, the jutsu would surpass the Rasengan for sure. Naruto decided that just sitting around thinking wouldn’t accomplish anything, so he attempted the jutsu. “First, the wind!” Naruto said as he made a single handsign and began breathing both warm moist wind, and cool dry wind in his hand. The winds chased after each other and created a small tornado, but it immediately spun out of control, sending Naruto flying backwards. Naruto tried again, and he still couldn’t contain his jutsu. Naruto tried to contain his small tornado all night, to no avail.

Three days passed and Naruto was beat, he hadn’t been able to contain his jutsu yet and that was only the first step to his jutsu. Naruto got up and made a handsign and blew the wind into his hand. The wind formed a tornado that he was able to contain for a moment longer than it usually did, but it spiraled out of control and blew Naruto backwards. Naruto got up, his hands were bruised from the brunt of his jutsu, and he was tired, but he couldn’t give up. He would have to give up his dream if he did. “What if I tried to do this with two hands?” Naruto thought as he got up. He made a handsign and created the small tornado of wind in his right hand. With his left hand he made small circular motions and the tornado began to spin faster and harder, without spinning out of control. Once stopped making the circular motions with his hand the jutsu spun out of control and the wind threw Naruto into a tree. Naruto shrugged it off and smirked “The first step is complete!” he said. Once he got back to the hotel he was still smiling and Jiraiya had noticed. “Why are you grinning?” he asked. “I’ve made progress with my new jutsu. I have four days left, I’ll definitely complete it and show that old hag!” Naruto said. “Will you give me any hints to what this jutsu will be?” Jiraiya asked. “I won’t tell you anything before its done. You’ll see it when I complete it.” Naruto declared.

The next day, Naruto finally was able to start on the next stage of his jutsu, adding the water. Naruto made a handsign and created the small tornado in his hand and he contained it by using the circular motions with his left hand. Naruto then expelled a stream of water, and formed it into a twister, and sent it into his hand separately from the tornado he had in his hand. Naruto lost control of it quickly and the technique spun out of control. For the entire day, Naruto kept trying to use both the water and wind separately, but he couldn’t control it long enough to do anything of significance with it. Then came the 6th day. Naruto was determined to complete his technique today, but all of his attempts ended the same way. Naruto had been tired, it had gotten late. Naruto tried to do his jutsu again, sending the tornado to his hand and also adding the water. Due to Naruto being tired, he didn’t separate them as he intended, and the water combined with the wind, instead of them spinning separately. Naruto had a miniature hurricane in his hands, and it wasn’t spinning out of control like he thought it would, he was able to contain it. Naruto slammed his jutsu into the base of a massive tree and his jutsu drilled through the tree easily and all the water and wind escaped from the back of the tree. Naruto looked at the tree and it like a small tornado was drilled through it. The tree nearly fell on Naruto and he quickly jumped out of the way.

Naruto walked back to the hotel to Jiraiya who was waiting. “Tell the old hag that my jutsu is complete, and to make sure she brings my necklace.” Naruto said. A half hour later they all gathered at the place Naruto had been training. “Let’s see this jutsu kid.” Tsunade said. “It has to rival the Rasengan, so I’ll do a Rasengan on a tree to show the damage it does. Your jutsu has to do at least that much damage.” Jiraiya said as he formed a Rasengan and slammed it into a nearby tree. His Rasengan carved an orb shape hole into the tree. Naruto made a handsign and created a small tornado in his hand, he then expelled a stream of water at it, and the water melded with the tornado, creating a small hurricane in his hand. Naruto slammed it into a tree and carved out a huge hole into it, tearing though the tree easily and releasing the wind out of the back of the tree. “You came up with _that_ in a week? That’s incredible!” Shizune said. “Well I already had an idea for it, but I didn’t know how I’d execute it.” Naruto said, he then looked at Tsunade. “What do you think? It surpasses the Rasengan for sure, right?” Naruto asked. “Close your eyes Naruto.” Tsunade said, and Naruto listened. He felt a light weight on his neck and he opened his eyes and Tsunade was in front of him smiling. “You win, you’ll be a great Hokage, and I know that you’ll surpass all of the others.” she said. “Thank you, that means a lot to me.” Naruto said.

Tsunade exchanged looks with Shizune. “To be honest with you Jiraiya, I haven’t told you everything. Orochimaru came to me because he wants me to heal my arms, and he gave me a week make a decision. He said if I did what he asked, he would bring them back.” Tsunade said. Naruto was confused for a moment, but realized that she had to be talking about her brother and her lover. “So you were going to meet with him tomorrow… that can be advantageous for us.” Jiraiya said. “How?” Shizune asked. “We can set up an ambush for Orochimaru. He couldn’t hope to win against all of us without the use of his arms.” Jiraiya said. “It’s not just Orochimaru, he had someone with him. He was pretty skilled, seeing that he was able to avoid my poison.” Shizune said. “You and Naruto should be able to deal with him, me and Tsunade can deal with Orochimaru.” Jiraiya said. “This could work… and we’d be able to stop Orochimaru from attacking the village again. I’m in.” Tsunade said.

The next day, they allowed Tsunade to go to her meeting with Orochimaru alone, and they were to trail her. Once they’d reached Tsunade’s location, they’d noticed that they had already started to move to take the fight away from the crowded town. There was a huge hole in the ground and it didn’t go unnoticed by them. “It seems that Tsunade must’ve famously lost her temper. We have to catch up with them.” Jiraiya said, as they started moving at full speed. Once they’d arrived, they saw Kabuto trying to attack Tsunade and they all jumped in front of her. Tsunade seemed stunned, she wasn’t even going to defend herself, Naruto didn’t know what was wrong. “Kabuto, I knew something was off about you, you traitor!” Naruto growled. Kabuto smirked as he pushed his glasses up “Well I can’t be considered a traitor if I was never on your side now can I?” he asked. “Long time no see… Orochimaru!” Jiraiya said. “You haven’t changed a bit.”

Jiraiya and Orochimaru all drew blood at the same time and the whole place had been enveloped with smoke, then Naruto saw all three of their summons. A gigantic snake and Gamabunta. “It looks like they’ve already started, we should get going as well.” Shizune said. “Right!” Naruto said as they both whipped at Kabuto. Shizune pulled up her sleeve and poisoned senbon flew at Kabuto, who dodged them easily. Kabuto’s hands began glowing blue and he tried to strike Naruto, who swiftly dodged. “Get out of the way!” Shizune called out as she made a handsign and a cloud of poison gas shot at Kabuto. As Kabuto was about to get hit by it he disappeared and from underground, grabbed Shizune’s legs, with his hands still glowing blue. Shizune crumpled to the ground. “Shizune! Are you okay?” Naruto called out and Kabuto kicked her, dropping her on the ground. He then went to punch Tsunade and Naruto jumped in front of her, taking the blow head on. “N-Naruto?” Tsunade asked. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I’ll protect you!” Naruto said. Naruto went to punch Kabuto, but he dodged elusively and cut one of Naruto’s legs with his chakra scalpel, making Naruto unable to move that one well. “Naruto Uzumaki. You’re quite talented, but you don’t have what Sasuke Uchiha has, a Kekkei Genkai.” Kabuto said. “I don’t need one to beat you.” Naruto said as he began making handsigns.   


“Fire Release: Fire Bullet!” Naruto yelled as he released some oil and lit it ablaze and a huge oil bullet flew at Kabuto. Kabuto jumped above it and Naruto shot another Fire Bullet at Kabuto. Kabuto began making handsigns “Water Release: Water Formation Wall!” he yelled as he exhaled a huge stream of water that canceled out Naruto’s Fire Bullet. When Kabuto landed, he dashed at Naruto and Tsunade with a kunai in hand. Naruto created a clone, then stood his ground and didn’t move, wanting to protect Tsunade. Naruto swiftly caught Kabuto’s hand. “Heh, I got you just where I want you.” Naruto said. “You won’t be able to avoid this!” Naruto said as he began breathing wind chakra into his hand, forming it into a tornado. He then breathed a stream of water into it, turning it into a mini hurricane. “Wind and Water Release: Hurricane!” Naruto yelled as he slammed his jutsu into Kabuto’s abdomen, but as he did, Kabuto struck him as well. Naruto almost put a hole through Kabuto’s stomach and Kabuto dropped to the ground immediately, but he wasn’t dead. Kabuto’s cells were multiplying rapidly, and his wound had been closing, but he still had a hole in his chest, it had grown much smaller though.

Naruto began leaking blood from his mouth and dropped to the ground, his world turning dark. Tsunade ran to him immediately and began healing him. _The muscles around his heart are worn out…and his heartbeat has become erratic. That blow Kabuto gave him must’ve been worse than it looked. _ Naruto opened his eyes and he was able to see again, and he saw Tsunade healing him. “I-I won’t die. Not until I become the Hokage!” Naruto said weakly, as he passed out. The next day, everyone was up and fully recovered. They were preparing to leave, and before they did, Tsunade pulled him to the side. “Naruto, I’m sorry about what I said at the pub, I was wrong. I wanted you to know that I’ve decided to become the 5th Hokage.” Tsunade said. “Thank you, you’ll make them proud.” Naruto replied. Naruto and everyone left Tanzaku Town and went back home to Konoha. Once they returned Naruto, Tsunade and Jiraiya met the Konoha elders, Genma and Aoba at the Hokaget tower. “I’m amazed you were able to convince her.” Koharu said.

“I’m very persuasive when I want to be…” Jiraiya said. “Let’s gather the local lords and celebrate the inauguration of the 5th Hokage. Genma, Aoba, announce this to the village.” Naruto stopped them. “Before all of that, we have people that need Tsunade urgently. Sasuke, Kakashi and Lee were all injured. So before the inauguration happens she needs to do that first.” Naruto said. “Alright, when that’s over the inauguration will begin. “Naruto, before we go do that, meet me at my office in about an hour. I have to do some things.” Tsunade said. “Alright.” Naruto replied, as he blinked to one of his marked kunai that he has at home. Naruto took his backpack off and unwound. An hour later Naruto walked to the Hokage office. “Naruto, now that I’ve had time to do some things and evaluate the results of the Chunin Exams, I officially promote you to Chunin.” Tsunade said as she tossed a flak jacket at him. Naruto caught it and smiled. “Sensei thought you deserved a promotion, and I’ve seen you in action. Congratulations, serve Konoha well.” Tsunade said and Naruto took off his jacket, and put on his flak jacket. “I’ll be going over to heal your friends and Kakashi, if you’re coming, follow me.” Tsunade said.

Once they’d gotten to the hospital they saw Sakura sitting next to Sasuke’s bed and Sasuke was resting peacefully. “Sakura, long time no see.” Naruto smiled. “Naruto? Who’s the woman you’re with?” she asked. “She’s the new Hokage, Tsunade. More importantly, she’s here to heal Sasuke, Kakashi Sensei and Lee.” Naruto said. “Leave it to me.” Tsunade said. She walked up to Sasuke’s bed and put a hand on his head, and her hand glowed green. She turned to look at Sakura “He’ll wake up soon.” Sakura’s eyes softened and tears dropped from her green eyes. Moments later, Sasuke awoke and Sakura rushed to him and embraced him “Sasuke, I’m glad you’re okay.” she said softly. Naruto smiled, and he left the hospital. Naruto went to walk back home and put his jacket away. As he was walking through the village, he passed the Yamanaka Flower Shop and Ino saw him and flagged him down. “Naruto!” she called. “Oh, hey Ino!” Naruto said. “I had wanted to speak to you for a while, but you were nowhere to be found.” Ino said. “I left the village to look for someone, what’s up?” Naruto asked. “Sakura told me what happened with Gaara. She told me that you risked your life to save me, and I never got the chance to thank you.” Ino said. “I’d risk my life for any of my comrades.” Naruto said. “Thank you Naruto, it makes two times that you’ve saved me now. Oh, and I noticed the flak jacket. You got promoted to Chunin too?” she asked. “Too? Who else has been promoted?” Naruto asked. “Shikamaru has! Could you believe it, him as a team captain? He’s capable of it, but it’s a matter of if he feels like it or not.” Ino said. “If you see him tell him I said congratulations. I gotta go, I’ll see you around.” Naruto said. “I will.”

Naruto, after going back home and getting rid of his jacket, went back to the hospital to check up on Sasuke. Once Naruto poked his head into the hospital room, Sasuke gave him an intense glare, his usual handsome features melting into a look of rage. “Why are you glaring at me like that Sasuke?” Naruto asked. “Naruto… fight me!” Sasuke demanded. Sakura’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. “You’re still recovering, I wont fight you.” Naruto replied. “Shut up and fight me!” Sasuke exclaimed as he activated his Sharingan, making his gaze much more menacing. “I won’t fight you, you’re not fully recovered. Fighting now won’t do you any favors, and beating you now won’t matter if you aren’t at full strength.” Naruto said seriously. “If you don’t fight me, here and now, I’m going to attack you, and you’ll have to fight me to defend yourself. So fight me!” Sasuke yelled. Naruto didn’t have much of a choice, he would have to fight him either way. “Alright, I’ll fight you.” Naruto said. “Follow me.” Sasuke said, gesturing towards some stairs that lead to the rooftop. “Stop this, don’t fight.” Sakura said weakly. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt himself even more Sakura.” Naruto assured as he walked up the stairs and Sasuke did right after him.

“This isn’t like you Sasuke, why are you being so pushy?” Naruto asked. “Shut up and fight!” Sasuke said as he ran at Naruto. Naruto swept his legs and knocked him off his feet and held his fist over his face. “It’s over Sasuke…” Naruto said. Sasuke began making handsigns and Naruto immediately jumped backwards. “Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire!” Sasuke yelled as he spit a flurry of fireballs at Naruto. Naruto began making handsigns of his own “Water Release: Water Formation Wall!” Naruto yelled as he exhaled a stream of water that blocked Sasuke’s fireball and created steam. Naruto created a couple of Shadow Clones which dashed at Sasuke and kicked him into the air. Sasuke, while in midair began making handsigns and lightning began crackling in his hand. “I’ll put you in your place with this!” Sasuke roared. Naruto was sad that Sasuke would go through such lengths to beat him, even using the Chidori which is a move that could seriously hurt or kill Naruto. He had to end this before it could escalate too far. “Sasuke, Naruto, stop!” Sakura cried. Sasuke shot at Naruto and when Sasuke tried to hit him with the Chidori he grabbed Sasuke’s arm and threw him into away into one of the water tanks. Sasuke went flying and once his Chidori collided with the tank it ripped a huge hole in it, Kakashi appeared in front of them right after. “Sasuke, using the Chidori on one of your comrades… I would’ve thought you known better.” Kakashi chided.

“Naruto, you shouldn’t have fought Sasuke, especially right after he left the hospital.” Kakashi said. “I know, I didn’t want to, but he forced me into it.” Naruto said. Kakashi turned back to Sasuke, who was walking away. “I’ll deal with him for now, good job deescalating the fight.” Kakashi said, and then he turned to Sakura. “It’s all right, soon things will go back to how they used to be.” Kakashi said, as he vanished.

The next day Naruto awoke to a knock on the door. “Wait a minute!” he yelled as he got dressed quickly. He opened the door and Izumo was at his door. “You have been requested by the 5th Hokage, it’s urgent.” he said. “Alright, I’m going right now.” Naruto replied as he shut his door and left. “Now that you’re here I can tell you what’s happening. Last night, Sasuke Uchiha left the village to head to Orochimaru.” Tsunade said. “What?! He left?!” Naruto exclaimed. He knew Sasuke was having a rough time, but to leave to go to Orochimaru of all people? Naruto’s blood was boiling. “Yes, and we’re running out of time. So for now, I wanted to give you a mission.” Tsunade said. “You want us to follow him and bring him back?” Naruto guessed. “Yes, and quickly, there’s a high probability of Orochimaru’s henchmen showing up and leading Sasuke to Orochimaru.” Tsunade said. “I accept!” Naruto said immediately after. “I know most of the Jonin are out on missions, can I only take Genin or Chunin?“Naruto asked. “The only Chunin available for you to bring is Shikamaru, he doesn’t have guard duty, nor is he on a mission. The rest of your team should be comprised of Genin, it doesn’t matter how many you bring, just gather your team and be ready to leave in thirty minutes.” Tsunade said. “Alright, I’m gong to head out now.” Naruto said.

Naruto ran over to Shikamaru’s house and he found Shikamaru and his dad, Shukaku playing Shogi. “Hey Shikamaru, I need you for a mission. Sasuke has left the village, he went to Orochimaru and the mission is to take him back to the village.” Naruto explained. “Why would he do something like that? Alright, let me get dressed.” Shikamaru said. Moments later Shikamaru was out and they began heading to the next member of their team’s house. Naruto walked over to the woods where Team Kurenai usually trains. Kiba was sparring with Shino, and Naruto caught their attention. “What are you doing here?” Kiba asked. “I need you both for a mention, come on, I’ll explain while we go to the next person’s house. Naruto headed to Neji’s house and found him sparring with Hinata. Naruto explained to him the mission and he came along with them. They all went to the village gates and prepared to leave. “I’m the squad leader, and consider Shikamaru is who’ll be in charge of you all if something happens to me, or if we separate. Our formation will be a single line formation. Kiba’s in the front, seeing that he knows the terrain and has a sense of smell multiple times better that any of ours. I’ll be after Kiba, so I can relay orders to him and give you all hand signals. Shikamaru will be behind me. He’ll be in a crucial position to be able to snare people with the Shadow Possession Jutsu to set up attacks for us. Shino will be after Shikamaru, his bugs can fan out and cover our right and our left. Neji will be behind us, covering our rear with his Byakugan.” Naruto said. “Sounds like a good plan.” Shikamaru said. “I think it’ll work.” Shino replied. Before they could leave, Sakura stopped them.“Naruto… I couldn’t stop him.” She said as she began crying. “Please bring Sasuke back.” she cried. “The only one who can do it is you… I tried to stop him last night, but he knocked me out before I could use my snakes to grab him.” Sakura said. “I’ll try my best to bring him back.” Naruto said as they began running through the trees.


	8. Sasuke Retrieval Mission!

As Naruto and his group was traveling Kiba spoke up. “I smell the stench of blood. It’s not Sasuke’s, I smelled him and four others getting away from the scent of blood.” Kiba said. “There had to be combat, maybe Sasuke and the people he’s with fought some enemies on the way. We could go there and gather information but if we do, Sasuke will cross the border of the land of fire. So we should just keep going after Sasuke.” Naruto said as they kept traveling, but everything wasn’t smooth sailing. They eventually ran into some traps. “Look at that, it’s a double wire trap.” Shikamaru said, gesturing to a wire on the ground. “That only looks like one to me.” Kiba replied. “That’s intentional, you are supposed to see the first one, so you’ll avoid it, and step into the second one. We have to go over it carefully.” Shikamaru said as they walked around cautiously. “Neji, see if there are any more traps ahead.” Naruto said. “Alright, I’ll check.” Neji said as he made a handsign and activated his Byakugan. Neji’s eyes widened “I see four of them sitting around Sasuke, who looks to be in a coffin. There aren’t any more traps.” Neji said. “A coffin? Is he dead?” Kiba asked. “I doubt they would kill him, seeing that Orochimaru wanted him.” Shino said. “This is how we’re going to do this. Kiba you’re going to toss a flash bomb down there to increase the range of Shikamaru’s Shadow Possession Jutsu. After that we’ll take them out. There aren’t any traps over there right?” Naruto said. “It doesn’t look like there are any traps. Let’s do it.” Neji replied. Naruto and the rest of his group hid in the bushes overlooking the group. Naruto gave a signal and they sprung into action. Kiba flung the flash bomb at the group and all of them jumped down at them. Before any of them could react, Shikamaru used his Shadow Possession on them and bound them. “You fell right into our trap. “Shikamaru said. “We knew you were here, you fell into _our_ trap.” Sakon said as a volley of shuriken began flying at them, forcing them to duck and Shikamaru dropped his jutsu.

Jirobo quickly slammed his hand on the ground “Earth Release Barrier: Earth Prison of Magnificent Nothingness!” he yelled as the earth quickly surrounded Naruto and the group in the shape of a dome. “Damn, he caught us.” Kiba said. “Get outta the way! I’m going to bust us out of here!” Kiba said as he sprung into action, spinning rapidly “Fang Passing Fang!” he yelled as he collided with the wall to put a big dent in it, but it began repairing itself. “This isn’t an ordinary wall of earth…” Neji said as he activated his Byakugan. “Our chakra is being sapped by him. We have to get out of here quickly or it’s game over.” Neji said. Naruto raked his brain for a solution and found one “We have to find out what side of the rocks he’s on. His chakra is strongest there, and on the opposite side his chakra would be weaker.” Naruto said. “That’s not a bad plan. Try it out.” Neji said. “Hey, let us out!” Naruto yelled. “I won’t let you out, you guys are my meal! I’m going to devour the chakra of every one of you fools.” Jirobo replied.

“He’s right in front of us it seems. So if we want to get out of here, we have to hit the wall behind us with a strong attack.” Naruto said as he began making a Rasengan in his hand and smashed it into the wall behind them all. It made a big enough hole for Naruto and the rest of them to climb out of. “Heh, so you broke my barrier, but can you beat me?” he said. “We’ll have to split up, if we waste too much time here Sasuke will leave the Land of Fire.” Naruto said. “Don’t worry about splitting up, you’ll all die here.” Jirobo said as he dashed at them. Kiba jumped in front of them all and used Jirobo’s momentum to throw him. “Akamaru and I will take this one on.” Kiba said. “Catch back up to us once you take care of this guy.” Naruto said. “None of you are getting away!” Jirobo yelled as he picked up a huge chunk of earth and threw it at them. Kiba sprung into action, spinning rapidly “Fang Passing Fang!” he yelled as he destroyed the chunk of earth. “Go! We got this. Remember I’m not alone in this fight.” Kiba said. “Before we leave, take this!” Naruto said as he tossed his marked kunai at him. “If you get in a bad spot, throw this. I’ll be there to help you in a flash.” Naruto said as they left.

Naruto and the rest of the group took off after Sasuke, leaving Kiba and Akamaru to fend for themselves.Naruto felt bad about having to split themselves up, but that was they only way they would catch up to Sasuke, and it seems that this is only the beginning. “Are you sure it was a good decision leaving Kiba and Akamaru to fend for themselves against a guy who was able to trap us all?” Neji asked. “Kiba’s strong, he won’t die to someone like that, isn’t that right Shino?” Naruto said. “That’s right. He’ll be fine. He’ll be back here bragging to us in no time.” Shino said. They had to believe in their friend, despite the odds stacked against them. They left a mark on a tree, an arrow to let Kiba know what direction they went in. As they continued traveling they noticed a lack of traps. “I haven’t seen any traps, they must’ve thought the other guy finished us off.” Shino said. “That’s advantageous for us. Neji, tell me if you see anything.” Naruto said. “They are in front of us, not that far ahead and it seems they haven’t noticed us.” he said. “That’s perfect, I can transform into their comrade and fool them into giving us the coffin Sasuke’s in.” Naruto said as he made a handsign and transformed into Jirobo. “You guys be ready to back me up if they find me out.” Naruto said. “Wait, you should send a clone instead of yourself. If you are discovered, they’ll attack it instead of you and we all can strike back.” Shikamaru said. “That’s a good idea.” Naruto said as he dropped his transformation and created a Shadow Clone. The clone transformed into Jirobo and he sent it in.

Naruto and the others watched the clone catch up to them. They began talking and something was amiss because they turned on the clone without even giving him the clone. “They know!” Neji said as Kidomaru tossed the coffin and spit a sticky web at Naruto’s clone, trapping him to a tree. “Go in now!” Naruto said and they sprung into action, Naruto quickly rained down a volley of his marked kunai at Kidomaru, who swiftly avoided it. He then spit a huge web at Naruto that almost caught him, but he blinked to one of his kunai. Both Shino and Neji both dashed at Kidomaru from opposite sides and Kidomaru used all six of his arms to guard both sides of him. “You won’t get me with a surprise attack like that.” Kidomaru sneered. “Oh really?” Shikamaru asked as he caught him with his Shadow. “Shadow Possesion Jutsu complete!” he said. “You really think this pathetic jutsu can hold me?” Kidomaru said as the Curse Mark began to spread across his face and it became increasingly hard for Shikamaru to hold his jutsu. Shikamaru dropped his jutsu and Kidomaru quickly spit a web at Neji, trapping him to a nearby tree. He then threw a kick at Shino, who quickly avoided it by jumping back, but as soon as he did, Kidomaru spit a web at his feet, trapping him to the trunk. Kidomaru then created a golden spear from his webbing and chucked it at Shino. Naruto jumped, but he didn’t reach him in time, but someone else did, Neji. Neji quickly broke out of the web he was in and broke the spear. He then released Shino from the webbing he was in by using the Gentle Fist. “How did you…?” Kidomaru asked. “Your webs are made of chakra, my Gentle Fist can destroy it.” Neji said as he turned to his team. “Let me handle this guy.”

Before Naruto and the rest could even say anything, Kidomaru shot a huge web at them, which Neji quickly jumped in front of and destroyed it. “Get out of here guys, I got this.” Neji said. “Alright, come find us once you finish up here.” Naruto said as they resumed their chase, with two members down from what they started with. “They’re close, my bugs can tell, the last time we encountered them I planted a bug on that coffin.” Shino said. “That’s good, we might be able to finish them all off this time. We have the advantage of numbers.” Naruto said. “I have a plan, hear me out.” Shikamaru began. “Naruto and I will face off against them head to head, while Shino goes around them and attacks from their flank. You’ll have to be very stealthy, do you think you can do it?” Shikamaru asked. “It should be no problem.” Shino said as he began moving through the trees stealthily, going around the two enemies. Naruto and Shikamaru confronted the enemies, sending a volley of shuriken at them. Both Tayuya and Sakon jumped quickly. “What is Kidomaru doing? I could understand Jirobo’s fatass failing, but Kidomaru? This doesn’t make sense.” Tayuya exclaimed. “Just hold on to that coffin, I’m going to take out the trash.” Sakon said as he whipped towards Naruto and began swinging. “Multiple Fists Barrage!” he yelled as he tried to punch Naruto, but he blocked it. Naruto still felt a big brunt of the attack and it felt like his fists were much heavier than they should’ve been. Shino revealed himself and sent a huge wave of bugs at Tayuya. Shikamaru used the bug’s shadow to land his jutsu “Shadow Possession Complete!” he said as Shino quickly got the coffin and they ran. Naruto quickly kicked Sakon away and flung his marked kunai at a tree near Shikamaru and Shino, he then teleported to it and they began retreating.

“Tayuya! What the hell are you doing?! You’re going to let them escape!” Sakon roared as he began dashing at them at speeds much faster than they anticipated. Naruto quickly turned around and created a Rasengan in his hand, he smashed it into Sakon’s chest and he went flying. Tayuya was still stunned by the entire situation, and she didn’t move a muscle. Naruto and his group began kicking it into overdrive, running quickly. Before they could get far, someone flew by them and grabbed the coffin from Shino. “There’s another person, he stole the coffin from me!” Shino said, once Naruto turned he saw someone zipping past them. Naruto barely had time to think, he had to make a quick decision or Sasuke would be gone. “Shikamaru, Shino, I have to chase after the guy who took Sasuke away. You guys have to fight those two guys. Cover me so I can escape!” Naruto said. “We know, go get him, we’ll cover you.” Shino said. “Go on Naruto, we’ll be fine. We at least have the both of us.” Shikamaru said. “Thank you, I’m sorry for dragging you all into this mess. Take care of yourselves.” Naruto said as he began chasing after the one who took Sasuke. After a while he caught up with him, and he caught him in a huge clearing. Kimimaro was standing next to the coffin.

“I’m not going to run away from you, I’ll kill you right here and now. I was just looking for a place that would be suitable for a grave.” Kimimaro said. “I’m taking Sasuke back. If I have to take care of you to do it, so be it.” Naruto said. Kimimaru stretched out his arm and a jagged bone began growing out of his palm. It grew until it was the length of a good sized dagger. “My Kekkei Genkai allows me to manipulate my bones. My bones are much denser than the average person’s and I can wield them as weapons that are better than conventional weapons. Behold.” Kimimaru said as he dashed at Naruto. Naruto quickly jumped into the air and began making handsigns “Fire Release: Flame Bullet!” Naruto yelled as he exhaled a huge oil-enhanced flame. Kimimaro jumped in the air to dodge and Naruto quickly flung a marked kunai at him, which he avoided by moving his head. Naruto teleported to his kunai and slammed a Rasengan into his back and sent Kimimaro flying back to the ground.

Kimimaro’s back was bruised, but he was fine. “Things like that won’t kill me, If that’s the best you have it’s all over for you.” Kimimaro said as he raised his fingers. “Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets” he said as the tips of his fingers opened and he released a volley of hardened finger bones. Naruto jumped and flung a bunch of his marked kunai on the battlefield. Kimimaro jumped and tried to impale Naruto with his bone blade, but Naruto quickly teleported and created hundreds of clones, mixing some explosive clones with them as well. “I’ll show you the Dance of the Willow!” Kimimaro said as he produced bones from his elbows, knees and his shoulders. He quickly began piercing through Naruto’s clones, one by one in a fierce assault. Naruto detonated one of his explosive clones and the shock wave blew Kimimaru back and destroyed a decent amount of the clones as well. Naruto then began making handsigns and tossed a shuriken at Kimimaro “Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!” Naruto yelled as his shuriken multiplied into dozens of them. Kimimaro quickly retrieved a bone from his shoulder to use as a blade. He deflected all of Naruto’s shuriken with blinding speed. Naruto then noticed that the coffin was smoking “Soon Orochimaru will fulfill his ambitions.” Kimimaro said. Then the coffin burst open and smoke was coming out of it, once the smoke cleared Naruto saw Sasuke. His hair was much longer and his whole body was much darker, but the curse mark was retreating and his skin was returning to normal color. His chakra was the most notable, it was particularly sinister. “Sasuke, get back here!” Naruto yelled. Sasuke began chuckling, then it was laughter, mad laughter. Sasuke quickly ran away from there.   


Naruto then noticed Kimimaro wasn’t where he previously was “Game over.” he heard from behind him, but before Kimimaro could strike, someone kicked him away. Naruto looked back to see that it was Rock Lee. He then took a fighting stance. “Naruto, go get Sasuke! Leave this guy to me.” he said. “Lee, but your in-” Naruto began. “It’s take care of. Go get Sasuke!” he assured. “Thank you!” Naruto said as he ran after Sasuke. Naruto’s mind was racing as he ran. _Sasuke, he didn’t even look at me. He came here willingly and lives are on the line here. The others risked their lives so we could retrieve someone who left on his own free will. Is Sasuke already too far gone? If this were any other Shinobi nation he would’ve just been branded as a missing-nin. I hope it’s isn’t what it looks like but all the evidence points to that it is. If we lost Sasuke’s heart, it doesn’t matter if we bring him back to the village or not, he won’t ever be the same. __Will we end up like the Sanin? One teammate turns away from the path of good and the others just allowing it happen. Jii-san told me he could’ve stopped Orochimaru before he became the threat he is today, will I have to stop Sasuke for good, and could I do it. I know I’m stronger than him, I could physically do it, but would I do it? I might have to find out sooner than later. _

Naruto finally caught up with Sasuke, they were in the Valley of the End, with Sasuke standing on Madara’s head, and Naruto was standing on Hashirama’s. “Sasuke!” Naruto yelled. Sasuke waiting a moment, and turned. “So they’ve sent you after me. I already told Sakura, don’t bother me anymore.” Sasuke said. “Why are you doing this Sasuke?” Naruto asked. “It has nothing to do with any of you. All of you failed to understand, I am an avenger! My sole purpose is to avenge my clan. I’m not going to play childish games with Konoha anymore, go home. You can’t stop me.” Sasuke said. “Shino, Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, Lee, they all risked their lives for you. To bring you back to the village.” Naruto said. “Good for them.” Sasuke said. Naruto knew then that the Sasuke he’d known was gone. Sasuke was always distant, but he’d never be as cold to disregard the lives of his comrades. “You think I’m just going to let you leave?” Naruto asked. “It doesn’t matter to me.” Sasuke dismissed him. “So if I stand in your way you intend to kill me?” Naruto asked. “I’ll do whatever it takes.” Sasuke replied. “Then so will I.” Naruto said as he dashed to Sasuke, kicking him down on the water. Sasuke caught himself quickly, back-flipping and blazing through handsigns “Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!” he yelled, exhaling a huge fireball that came soaring at Naruto.

Naruto made handsigns of his own as he jumped down onto the water. “Water Release: Water Formation Wall!” Naruto yelled as the water quickly formed a wall to protect him from the flames. Naruto and Sasuke then both engaged in combat with each other. Naruto threw a hook, Sasuke blocked it with one arm and tried to sweep Naruto off his feet. Naruto quickly jumped and landed a kick on Sasuke’s cheek. Sasuke merely wiped his face and spit out blood. Sasuke then unleashed a volley of shuriken at Naruto, who quickly created a shadow clone that grabbed him, and got him out of the way. Naruto then turned the clone into a Fuma Shuriken and tossed it at Sasuke. Sasuke bent over backwards to avoid it and Naruto aimed a kick at Sasuke, but Sasuke merely dodged the kick and grabbed Naruto’s leg and threw him. Sasuke then dashed at Naruto, who was still flying, and swung his foot downward to kick Naruto. Naruto blocked his foot and began making handsigns, prompting Sasuke to back up. “Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!” Naruto yelled, and a serpentine dragon manifested from the water. It shot at Sasuke who tried to block it, but it was futile. The dragon pushed Sasuke back a couple meters and he disappeared into the water.

A few moments later, Sasuke shot out of the water behind Naruto “Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!” Sasuke said as he exhaled a flurry of fireballs. Naruto made handsigns of his own “Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!” he yelled as he created three fang like protrusions from water. One of them to protect him, the other two to strike Sasuke, who quickly jumped out of the water, and onto a nearby wall of rock. “It seems like you’re finally getting serious Naruto.” Sasuke roared as the curse mark began spreading across his face and he began making handsigns. Naruto heard the signature chirping and Naruto knew Sasuke was using the Chidori. “I didn’t want to, but if you’re going to take it there, so be it.” Naruto said as he held out his hand. A small vortex of wind appeared and it began being surrounded by the nearby water. Both of them jumped at each other and slammed their jutsu clashed. “_Chidori, Combination Release: Hurricane!”_ they both yelled their respective jutsu names as they clashed. Naruto’s Hurricane overpowered the Chidori and canceled it out, and Naruto had a choice. He could end Sasuke here, or he could fight only to restrain Sasuke and not to kill. _I don’t know if I can do it, can I really kill my own friend here? He’s obviously attacking me with the willingness to kill, he’s too far gone. _Naruto’s body reacted for him, kicking Sasuke into the nearby rocks and Naruto landed softly in the water.

Sasuke got up and spit out blood. “You could’ve killed me there. Keep on hesitating, I won’t. I see that you’re too strong to defeat normally, so I’ll do this.” Sasuke said as the Curse Mark began expanding, covering up more than just half his face until his whole body was covered. Sasuke’s lightened in color and grew, it now touched Sasuke’s back. His skin darkened, and a mark the shape of a cross appeared on his nose. The whites of his eyes turned black and his Sharingan grew an additional tomoe. _This must be the next level to his Curse Mark, I have to be on my game now, this just got much more dangerous. _

Naruto began using some of the Kyuubi’s chakra, not enough to give him a tail. He then dashed at Sasuke and aimed a punch. Sasuke ducked under his punch and kicked Naruto into the water. Naruto then swung his foot under Sasuke, but Sasuke predicted Naruto and punched him in the face, sending him flying backwards. _His sharingan is fully matured now it seems, he should be able to predict my movements with greater accuracy than before. I have to be careful._ Naruto began making handsigns “Water Release: Great Waterfall Jutsu!” he yelled as the water behind him rose up and shot at Sasuke. The blast was huge and it carved out a big chunk of the rock, but Naruto saw no sign of Sasuke. Naruto checked every direction and looked up and saw Sasuke who was flying above him. He had two large wings that were shaped like hands. He then began making a Chidori, but this time it was black and it looked much more powerful than the basic Chidori. Naruto began using more of the Kyuubi’s chakra, he’d have to if he wanted to protect himself against an attack like that. Sasuke’s precognition was on another level now, there was a very good chance he could slip under Naruto’s attack and actually hit him with the Chidori. Naruto formulated a plan though, he would use the Flying Thunder God at the last moment to stop Sasuke from hitting him and then, he’d nail him with a Rasengan. Sasuke didn’t see Naruto’s fight during the Chunin Exams, he didn’t know Naruto could use the Flying Thunder God, it would catch him off guard.

Naruto created a Rasengan in his hand and retrieved one of his marked kunai. He then jumped at Sasuke, and Sasuke flew at him. At the very last moment possible, Naruto threw his kunai at Sasuke, nicking his cheek and drawing blood. Soon as Sasuke began thrusting his hand to pierce Naruto, he jumped to his kunai and slammed his Rasengan into Sasuke’s back. Fortunately for Sasuke, his wings took the brunt of the blow, but Naruto got Sasuke good, he dropped to the ground like a bag of rocks, but before he could hit the ground, Naruto grabbed him with his chains. Sasuke lost consciousness quickly and Naruto began walking. Before he could leave the Valley of the End, he encountered Kakashi, who’d burst through the trees with one of his ninken. “Naruto, you got Sasuke, but what happened here?” Kakashi asked. “I had to fight Sasuke, I got him, but who’s to say he won’t try to escape again? He left on his own free will. I-I debated killing him, to avoid creating someone like Orochimaru. Jiraiya and Sandaime both told me that Orochimaru could’ve been stopped before he became an international criminal, they told me that if someone would’ve taken action he could’ve been stopped. Are we making the right choice here? The hatred and pain in his heart won’t disappear, and if he attempts something like this again… I might have to kill my own comrade.” Naruto said sadly.   


“Nothing like this will happen again.” Kakashi said. “I’m not Sakura, I’m not so gullible. Something like this can very well happen again.” Naruto said and Kakashi looked remorseful. “How are the others? Did you come across them when you came here?” Naruto asked. “I didn’t run across them, but I did come across the medic team. Shikamaru and Shino have the least amount of injuries, as well as Lee. Kiba was in rough shape, he’ll pull through, but Neji… we’re not sure.” Kakashi said. “Neji dies because of Sasuke’s selfishness… I don’t think I’ll ever be able to be on a team with him again.” Naruto said andI Kakashi was wordless at this. As they traveled back to Konoha, Sasuke eventually woke up. He couldn’t escape Naruto’s chains, but he sure was trying. “Let me out! Let me out!” he yelled. Naruto knocked him out and they continued traveling. Once they made it to Konoha, Naruto and Kakashi immediately took Sasuke to the Anbu jail. He was restrained and had special seals that restrict chakra on him, he wasn’t going anywhere. Naruto then went to go check on his team.

He was sitting in the hospital on a bench waiting for the results. Naruto’s mind was racing. _I hope I didn’t lead this team, possibly to their death, to chase after Sasuke, someone who left on their free will and didn’t want their help. _Tsunade walked out of a hospital room. “We stabilized Neji Hyuga. He’ll live. That means that none of your teammates died today, you should be happy, things like this don’t happen often in the ninja world. You have to be thankful for all the good news you get. Also, congratulations, you’ve succeeded your mission.” Tsunade said “What are you going to do with Sasuke?” Naruto asked. “Keep him in Anbu jail for a while, I haven’t decided on things after that.” she said. “I can heal up your injuries, follow me.” Tsunade said. Naruto followed her into a hospital room. Tsunade’s hands began glowing green and Naruto’s injuries and exhaustion began healing. “What’s on your mind Naruto, you seem rather downtrodden.” she said. “It’s just that Sasuke is very similar to Orochimaru. I didn’t want to make the same mistake that jii-san did. I don’t want to let a threat grow, knowing I could’ve stopped it. There’s no guarantee that Sasuke won’t try to defect again, he did it on his own free will. I just can’t shake the feeling that I made a terrible mistake bringing him back, and not taking care of him while I could’ve.” Naruto said.  


“Ninja aren’t always a hundred percent sure of their decisions. Some decisions you have to make quickly in the heat of the moment. Only time will tell if we’ve made the right decision. I also can admit that I do see a lot of parallels between he and Orochimaru. Orochimaru was my friend once, he saved my life, Jiraiya’s too, he’ll tell you. People change, the way I see it, we’re giving Sasuke the chance to change for the better, instead of his decision being made for him.” Tsunade said. “Thanks for that, you’ve given me a new perspective.” Naruto said as he walked out. _You raised a fantastic student Sensei. He’ll surpass us all one day. _Tsunade thought as Naruto walked through the door.

Naruto encountered Sakura a little while later. She came to the hospital to check up on everyone and Naruto saw her. “Is everyone fine?” She asked. “Everyone will be okay.” Naruto replied. “And Sasuke…” she trailed off. “I brought him back but he isn’t here… he’s in the Anbu Jail.” Naruto said. “I understand, I’ll go see him there. Thank you for bringing him back… you don’t know how much it means to me.” Sakura said as she left the hospital. The next day when Naruto was at his home, Jiraiya came knocking on the door and Naruto let him in. “What’s up?” Naruto asked. “I came to speak to you about something. From now on you’re going to officially be my student, I’ll train you one on one for three years. I will make you into a world-class Shinobi like me. You’ll be able to hold your own against the Akatsuki.” Jiraiya said. Naruto was shocked. “What about the Akatsuki? Who’s to say they won’t be after me while we’re training over those years?” Naruto asked. “From what my information sources tell me, the Akatsuki won’t be after you for at least three years from now. So get ready, we’re leaving in two days.” Jiraiya said. “Alright, I’ll see you in two days, I’ll get my things in order.” Naruto said.

Over the next two days Naruto told most of his friends, except Sakura as he couldn’t find her. He ended up finding Sakura in the Forest of Death. She was in intense training with Anko, and they’d even got Kurenai to give her some tips. It seemed like Sakura was training hard to become the best Kunoichi she could be. “Sakura, I’m leaving Konoha to go train with Jiraiya. I’ll be gone for three years, and I wanted to say goodbye for now.” Naruto said. Sakura wrapped him up in a hug. “Thank you for everything Naruto. Train hard, and come back even stronger. I’m gonna train hard too. Anko Sensei and Kurenai Sensei have helping me. Even Kakashi Sensei when he’s had the time. By the time you come back, you’ll be looking at the new and improved Sakura.” Sakura said. “Have you gone to see Sasuke lately?” Naruto asked. “Not since the day you brought him back. When I did go to see him he wasn’t doing well. He was sad, and angry, very angry. It was scary, and I don’t like seeing him that way. Kakashi Sensei has been there much more than I have, he’s been spending a ton of time there between his missions. He feels like he’s failed Sasuke, he thinks he should’ve seen the signs and kept a closer watch on him.” Sakura said. “It’s nobodies fault besides Sasuke’s. I’m going to go see him before I leave.” Naruto said. “That probably isn’t a good idea, you’ll probably just upset him even more. He took losing to you pretty badly.” Sakura said. “Thanks for the info, goodbye Sakura…” Naruto said as he made a handsign and vanished.

He went over to the Anbu jail, and they allowed Naruto to visit, but they cautioned him that Sasuke wasn’t in a good mood right now. “It’s fine, just let me see him.” Naruto said and they let Naruto see Sasuke. He had been restrained in a device that resembled a straight jacket, but it had seals woven into it. His eyes hardened when he saw Naruto. “What are you doing here? Have you come to brag?” Sasuke snarled. “No, I haven’t. I’ve just come to see how my friend was doing.” Naruto said. “Why didn’t you just let me go?” Sasuke said sadly. “Because, my friend’s lives were endangered to try and save yours, I wasn’t just going to allow you to leave.” Naruto said. “If I rot in this place I won’t get stronger, and I won’t be able to kill my brother to avenge my clan!” Sasuke yelled. “You should’ve thought about that before you tried to defect. You don’t have to be in here forever. Change! Show them signs of growth, signs that you aren’t a flight risk, someone who’ll just run soon as they let you go. Show them that you have the capacity to change. The Hokage is a lenient person, seeing that she didn’t name you a missing-nin and send people to kill you. But she won’t just let you free without you showing her that you can change.” Naruto said. “Also, I wanted you to know… I’m leaving Konoha for three years, I’m going to train. So if you do get out of here and wonder where I am, remember that I left. Goodbye Sasuke.” Naruto said. Naruto had already packed his bag, and he went to the village gates where Jiraiya was waiting. “Have you said your goodbyes?” Jiraiya asked. “Yes, I’m ready to go.” Naruto said as he turned back to his home. “Goodbye Konoha, I’ll miss this place.” Naruto thought as they left the village.

A couple of months later, Sasuke was still sitting in Anbu jail when he felt a shift in the air, and suddenly a man with an orange swirled mask was before him. There was only one eye hole, and in it was a gleaming Sharingan. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” Sasuke asked. “I’m here to make you an offer…” the Masked Man said. “What is it?” Sasuke asked. “I’ll get you out of this jail, train you, and I’ll give you a shot at Itachi, if you come with me…” he said. “If I refuse?” Sasuke asked. “I’ll let you continue to rot in this jail and waste your potential with these Konoha idiots. You see I’m an Uchiha as well, and I would just hate to see someone with your talent just rot their lives away. I’m giving you everything you could want, so hurry and make a decision, before I get impatient.” the Masked Man said. “How can you give me a shot at Itachi?” Sasuke asked. “I’m apart of the same organization as he.” Sasuke didn’t even think about it. “Yeah, I’m in.” he said. Then they both vanished into thin air. When the Anbu went to deliver Sauske’s meal the noticed that he was gone. Kakashi was the first to get the news and Naruto got it a couple of days after that due to Konoha’s messenger hawk. Naruto was upset, his friends had risked his life to bring him back, and he left again. This time they didn’t know who he’d left with but Naruto knew one thing. If he found Sasuke, he wouldn’t fight passively anymore, he’d be fighting to kill.


	9. Naruto Returns to Konoha

The now sixteen year old Naruto walked into the village for the first time in almost three years. “It’s almost been three years huh Naruto…” Jiraiya said. “Indeed.” Naruto replied as climbed to a high spot, where he could see the whole village. He took in his home, it hasn’t changed a bit. Well, besides one change, Tsunade’s face was now on the Hokage Monument. “You’ve grown a lot haven’t you… Naruto.” a familiar voice said. It was true, Naruto had changed a great amount. He was about as tall as Kakashi now. His hair was longer, long enough to have a ponytail in the back similar to Jiraiya’s. During his training he never felt the need to cut it, so he had grown it out some. It wasn’t as long as Jiraiya’s though, it only went to about his shoulders and his red hair hung above his hitai-ate. Naruto had on his flak jacket and his black shinobi pants. “Hello Kakashi Sensei you haven’t changed a bit it seems.” Naruto said. “I’m headed to Ichiraku’s, I haven’t ate their in so long.” Naruto said as he began walking. On the way to Ichiraku’s he found Sakura. She still wore her trench coat, and she looked much fiercer than she used to be. She had her pink haired pulled back into a ponytail. She had on a red tank top with white outlines and pink shorts. “Naruto is that you?” she asked. “Of course, who else would it be?” Naruto replied.

“How do I look? Do I look more like a woman now?” Sakura asked. “Yes, you’ve grown, but you’ll always be the same to me.” Naruto replied. “You’ve even gotten taller than me Naruto. You really have grown.” Sakura said. Tsunade walked over to them, and Jiraiya and Kakashi caught up as well. “Naruto, you’ve grown a lot. But the nostalgia ends here… right Kakashi?” she asked. “It’s been a while, but from now on you guys will be coming with me on team-related missions. We aren’t student and teacher anymore, we’re all equals as Konoha ninja. I’ve been curious on how you’ve developed, the rules are the same as the first test.” Kakashi said. “Heh, a bell test? This won’t be necessary Kakashi Sensei.” Naruto smirked. “Why not?” Kakashi asked. “Tell them pervert.” Naruto said, looking smug. “Well… as much as I don’t like saying it, right now, the kid is every bit as strong as I am. If not stronger.” Jiraiya said. “You’re joking, he couldn’t have gotten _that_ strong.” Tsunade said. “I’m not kidding, I mean you can test him, but like he said it won’t be necessary. Before we left for our training trip, I told him that I would make him into a world class Shinobi, capable of taking on the Akatsuki. The kid worked hard to become just that.” Jiraiya said.

“Well let’s put him to the test. If he can beat Kakashi in ten minutes, I’ll make the kid a Jonin. Kakashi is one of the strongest Jonin we have, if Naruto can beat him that quickly, he more than deserves the title.” Tsunade said. “I can agree with that, I wanted to become a Jonin for a while anyways.” Naruto said. “Kakashi do you mind?” Tsunade said. “Not at all, I want to see how strong he’s become.” Kakashi said. “Let’s head to the training field.” Kakashi said. A couple of minutes later they got there and Jiraiya whispered in his ear. “Remember to take it easy kid.” he said. Naruto nodded “I know.” “Alright Naruto, you’ve got ten minutes to beat Kakashi.” Tsunade said. Kakashi immediately pulled up his headband and revealed his Sharingan. “I’ll need this.” he said. Kakashi unleashed a volley of Shuriken at Naruto and Naruto began making handsigns “Needle Jizo!” he said, infusing chakra into his hair to extend and harden it. His hair covered his whole body and blocked the incoming volley of shuriken. Naruto then snapped his hair back into it’s regular form and created two Shadow Clones. They all made handsigns simultaneously “Combination Release: Tempest!” Naruto yelled as he exhaled a rotating stream of water. His Shadow Clone added wind, and increased the velocity. His other Shadow Clone added lightning to increase the damage. The vortex shot at Kakashi and he put chakra into bottom of his feet and jumped high into the air, high enough for him to get out of the way of the blast. The trees took the full force of the blast, his vortex decimated all of the trees in it’s path, luckily Tsunade and the others were on the other side.

While Kakashi was preoccupied with Naruto’s jutsu, Naruto himself had tunneled underground, waiting for Kakashi to land. Kakashi looked for Naruto, but couldn’t find him at all, when he finally landed a hand bust from the ground and clutched Kakashi’s leg. “Earth Release: Added-Weight Rock Jutsu!” Naruto said, adding on enough weight to Kakashi so he couldn’t move. “I-I can’t move.” Kakashi said. “I added some weight to you, just enough so you couldn’t get up. I guess I win this one, Kakashi Sensei.” Naruto said. Tsunade, Jiraiya and Sakura approached them, and Naruto released his jutsu, allowing Kakashi to move freely once more. “It seems like Jiraiya wasn’t joking. I hereby promote you to the rank of Jonin kid. Normally you’d need a Jonin recommendation, and the Hokage’s approval. But I don’t think Kakashi here would argue that you aren’t prepared to be a Jonin, and you have my seal of approval.” Tsunade said. “Naruto, you’ve gotten so strong, it’s incredible.” Sakura said. “I would agree with that, the jutsu you used against me was high level.” Kakashi said. “I trained hard, I told you all before that I want to become the greatest Hokage that surpassed all of my predecessors and I meant it.” Naruto said in a determined tone.

Naruto began heading back to where he was originally going, to Ichiraku’s. Sakura was with him, since they were catching up on things. “So what have you been doing over the years Sakura?” Naruto asked as they walked. “I’ve been doing a lot of training with Anko Sensei and Kakashi Sensei. I learned a lot, I’m stronger than I used to be.” Sakura said. As they walked they encountered Shikamaru and Temari. “Shikamaru, Temari, look who’s back!” Sakura said, gesturing to Naruto. “Eh, Naruto is that you? You’re finally back. It’s good to see you.” Shikamaru said. “Shikamaru!” Naruto replied. “Temari, what are you doing in Konoha?” Naruto asked. “There’s a Chunin Exam soon, I’m going back in forth between Suna and Konoha for meetings, Shikamaru is a proctor. He was assigned to meet me.” Temari said. “Chunin Exams eh? That brings back memories.” Naruto replied. “How has Gaara been?” Naruto asked. “Well, he’s the Kazekage now, so he’s awfully busy.” Temari said. “Kazekage?! That’s great, I didn’t know that.” Naruto exclaimed. Naruto was happy for Gaara, he’s finally been recognized by his village, he’s became someone that people can believe in. “You didn’t know? Where have you been all these years?” Temari asked. “Nowhere and everywhere. Jiraiya and I traveled a lot, we’ve been in a lot of different places, but didn’t stay long in any of them.” Naruto said. “Well, we have some business to take care of, it was good seeing you Naruto.” Shikamaru said. “Yeah, you too.” Naruto replied.

The next day they were supposed to meet Kakashi for their first mission as a new team, but as usual, Kakashi was late. “You’d think he’d ever change…” Naruto said. “Nope, he’s the same as he’s always been.” Sakura said. A couple of minutes later, Kakashi showed up. “Sorry, I was delayed filling out the paperwork for the new team.” he explained. “I don’t wanna hear it.” Sakura replied. Naruto and the rest of the team walked to the mission hall to receive their mission. As they walked in the room, someone rushed in right after them. “The Kazekage has been taken by the Akatsuki! We’ve just received the message!” she said. “Team Kakashi… that’s your mission. You are to go immediately to the sand, find out the situation and relay it back to Konoha. After that, follow the orders of the sand and back them up.” Tsunade said.

Team Seven packed their backs quickly and got to the Konoha Gates. As they got there, Jiraiya and Tsunade were already waiting. “Naruto, c’mere for a sec.” Jiraiya said, and Naruto obliged. “Be careful with the Akatsuki, I know you’re confident in your abilities, but don’t be cocky. Also, don’t use the Nine-Tails chakra unless you have to.” Jiraiya said. “Alright.” Naruto replied. The same lady from before came running to the Konoha Gate. “We just got another hawk. Suna is requesting that you add a medic to the team. One of their ninja chased after the Akatsuki and got hurt badly.” she said. “Damn it, Shizune’s on a mission. I have someone else though. Someone go fetch Ino quickly!” Tsunade said. ‘I’ll go, and I’ll be back in a flash.” Naruto said. Naruto blinked to his home, as he had plenty of his marked kunai there and it was close to the flower shop. He then began running to the Yamanaka Flower Shop. Ino was there and Naruto walked in. Naruto had noticed that Ino has changed. Her hair was much longer than before, her bangs growing to cover half of her face. Her outfit was also much more revealing as well. She’d grown into a beautiful girl, almost beautiful enough to make Naruto forget why he’d came here. Naruto wasn’t the only one who was examining the other, Ino had also taken note of Naruto’s appearance. She noticed that Naruto was much taller than before. His boyish features were gone as his face lost it’s roundness and had become much more refined and angular. His eyes were determined, but still twinkled with boyish charm. Naruto had matured, and Ino had taken full notice.

“Uh, hey Naruto. I didn’t know you were back in the village.” Ino said. “Yeah, I’ve been back for a day. Besides that, I’m about to leave on a mission and the Hokage wanted me to come get you. We’re recovering Gaara, he’s been taken by the Akatsuki. We also heard that someone was supposed to be hurt, so we need you to look at them.” Naruto said. “Alright, let me pack a bag quickly and I’ll be back. Ino ran out the door and came back in five minutes with a packed bag. “Alright. I’m ready.” she said. They quickly went back to the others. “I found Ino.” Naruto said. “Alright, I trained Ino myself on medical ninjutsu. Shizune is on a mission, and I can’t go, so Ino can go in my place. Good luck on your mission.” Tsunade said.

“See you guys!” Sakura said. Naruto waved as they went off on their journey. Team Seven began jumping through the trees and shortly after, they encountered Temari, who was also heading in the direction of Suna. “Temari? Have you heard what happened?” Sakura asked. “No, I just had a bad feeling, so I started heading home. What happened?” she asked. “Gaara has been taken by the Akatsuki! We’re on a mission to rescue him!” Naruto said. “What?! They got Gaara?! I had a bad feeling, but I never would’ve thought it was this bad.” Temari said. “It’ll take us three days to get to Suna. Let’s hurry!” Kakashi said. “Right!” they yelled as they continued traveling. _Gaara… please be okay. We’re coming for you._

Three days later they made it to Sunagakure. They were standing at the border and a Suna ninja walked up to them. “We’ve been waiting, please this way. We didn’t realize Temari would be with you to.” he said, and they walked inside. “So you all know the situation, Gaara was abducted. After that Kankuro pursued them but he was wounded, which is why we requested for the medic.” he said. “They got Kankuro too?!” Temari exclaimed. “Yeah, he was caught by the enemies poison, we have no way to neutralize it.” he said. “That’s why I’m here. I’m going to help him.” Ino said. After that, they went to the room where the Kankuro was being held. Soon as they walked in an old lady immediately went to attack Kakashi. Naruto quickly blocked her from hitting him and she jumped back, preparing to strike once more. “What are you doing?” Naruto asked. “I remember that man… the White Fang of Konoha. I’ll get my revenge for my son today!” Chiyo said as she ran at them again. An old man quickly blocked her path with his arm.

“Wait sister, take a good look. That man looks similar to him, but he isn’t the White Fang. He wouldn’t still look so young.” the man said. “Gaaah, I was just pretending to be stupid!” Chiyo yelled and Kakashi sighed a breath of relief. “I’ll go check on Kankuro now!” Ino said. “Thank you.” Temari said in concern. Ino quickly examined him and her palms began to glow green. She placed one hand on his side, and pulled a liquid out of his wound with her other hand. It had seemed to put some strain on Ino, as she was sweating. “I got it!” she said. “We don’t need to worry about his life anymore, I’ve removed the poison directly.” Ino said as she wiped her sweat. Temari sat down and sighed “Whew.” she said. “I have to make an antidote for the poison still remaining in his body. It isn’t much, but he’ll be much better once I get rid of it. I need you guys to gather what I say.” Ino said. She then walked out of the building to go gather the necessary herbs. _Seems like Ino’s been working hard over the years._

“Kankuro, are you okay?” Temari asked. “I’ve been better, but I’m glad I’m alive.” Kankuro said. “I wanted to ask you something Kankuro. Where were you fighting? I want to go and gather a scent so we can follow their trail.” Kakashi said. “That’s not necessary. There’s two enemies. One abducted Gaara, you should follow Gaara’s scent. The other was Sasori of the Red Sands. I fought him and I got a piece of his clothing.” Kankuro said. “Making a success from a failure, you’re truly a Shinobi of the Sand.” Kakashi complimented. “Are you absolutely sure that it was Sasori you fought?” Ebizou asked. “I’m positive. He told me himself, and his skill with puppets were unmatched. It had to be him.” Kankuro said. Ebizou and Chiyo shared a sad look, and Ino walked back through the door. “Drink this, it’ll help you.” she said as she gave him the cup. He drank it all. “You’ll be fine now. Until the paralysis ends, don’t move. Get some sleep.” Ino said.

“Alright, it’s time to get Gaara. Let’s go!” Naruto said as he grabbed his bag of the ground. “Please save my little brother.” Kankuro said. “Yeah, don’t worry about it. I’ll be the Hokage someday, Gaara will just owe Konoha one.” Naruto said as he walked out of the door. Once they went outside, a Suna ninja walked up to them. “If you wait a moment, we can have a skilled ninja come with you.” he said. “I want to come with them.” Temari said. “No, we still need you here to defend the village and help calm the people.” he said. “I’ll come.” a voice rang out and someone jumped down. “C-Chiyo don’t you think you’re a bit old to go with them?” he asked. “Don’t treat me like an old hag!” she said. “Alright, well if this is everyone, lets go.” Kakashi said. Kakashi bit his thumb and made handsigns “But first…” he slammed his hands into the ground “Summoning Jutsu!” he said and a puff of smoke came out and a pack of ninken appeared. “Fan out and search for the Akatsuki.” he ordered and they all obeyed.

As they were traveling Sakura looked concerned. “Naruto, can I ask you something? When did the Akatsuki start targeting you?” she asked. “Since three years ago, when they first came to the village to find me.” Naruto said. “So why did they wait three years to move again?” Sakura asked. “The Bijuu are huge masses of chakra, you have to prepare to seal something of that volume, I know because I’ve studied seals for my training.” Naruto said. “That’s correct, it requires considerable preparation to rip a Bijuu from a man. That’s what’s been hampering their efforts.” Chiyo said. Once they reached a clearing Kakashi yelled “Everybody halt!” Naruto then looked and saw why Kakashi had stopped them all. Itachi Uchiha was standing in their path.

“Naruto… you’re coming with me.” he said. “I’m not a kid anymore Itachi, this will be completely different from when we met three years ago.” Naruto replied. “Don’t look into his eyes! It’s dangerous!” Kakashi yelled. “I know.” Naruto replied as Itachi made a handsign. “What should we do? How can we fight without looking at him.” Ino asked. “Judge his movements by his feet and body. You’ll be fine if you avoid eye contact.” Kakashi said. “Last time I was unprepared, this time, it won’t go the same way.” Kakashi said. “Naruto, back me up. I’m better suited to fight against his Sharingan since I have one of my own.” Kakashi said. Kakashi walked towards Itachi and Itachi began making handsigns “Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!” he yelled, sending a huge fireball their way. Naruto and the others quickly jumped out of the way and Kakashi tunneled underground and threw an uppercut at Itachi. Itachi dodged it, and grabbed Kakashi’s arm and threw a punch of his own, which Kakashi dodged. Kakashi grabbed Itachi and Itachi looked into his eyes. They weren’t moving, it seemed Kakashi was trapped in the Genjutsu, but he climbed out of a hole. “This is a clone, I knew you wouldn’t be affected by Genjutsu of this level.” Itachi said. “Naruto, handle him and my clone!” Kakashi said. “Got it!” Naruto said. Naruto began making handsigns and made a small hurricane in his hands. He dashed to Itachi and Kakashi’s clone and slammed him with his jutsu. “Combination Release: Hurricane!” Naruto yelled. The mini-hurricane carved a hole through Itachi’s chest and killed him.

When they went to examine the corpse, it wasn’t the corpse of Itachi Uchiha, it wasn’t him. “I had a bad feeling in the middle of the fight…” Kakashi said. “Do you know this person?” Sakura asked. “That’s Yura, a Jonin from Suna.” Chiyo said. “From Suna? Does that mean he was a traitor?” Ino asked. “No… it can’t be, he’s been working hard as a leader for years.” she said. “It seems like they just used them to gather information. It’s cruel, but it’s effective.” Naruto said. “It might be just to delay us… they must’ve started to extract Shukaku from Gaara.” Chiyo said. “Then let’s get to Gaara now!” Naruto said. They continued traveling for a while, then they set up camp. Naruto was on the first sentry duty, and he was just watching the fire and thinking, hoping he could save Gaara. After a while, it was time for Ino’s turn for sentry duty, and Naruto woke her up. “Hey Ino, it’s your turn to be up.” Naruto said. She yawned loudly once she awoke. Naruto wasn’t so sleepy, so he sat at the fire for a while, eventually Ino joined him, sitting across from him.

“Naruto, aren’t you worried. I mean about chasing after the Akatsuki. I mean you’re a Jinchuuriki too, just like Gaara. The people you’re after are also after you. That doesn’t worry you?” she said. “It does make me angry that I’ll always have to look over my shoulder, but that’s why I trained so hard. So I don’t have to worry about stuff like that. I tried by best to become as strong as I can not only so I can become the Hokage, so I can beat the people who are after me, and protect my friends.” Naruto said. “So it doesn’t worry you?” Ino asked. “It does, more than I’d like to admit.” Naruto said. “You should try to get some sleep Naruto, I’ll see you tomorrow.” she said. “Yeah, see you tomorrow Ino.” Naruto said as he went to his sleeping bag and laid his head to rest.

The next day they began traveling again. Naruto was getting impatient. He’d wanted to save his Gaara from the Akatsuki badly, and he’d known how much Gaara had suffered. He began pulling ahead of his friends without noticing. “Naruto, hold on…” Kakashi said, but he hardly heard him. “Why does that boy want to save Gaara so much and he’s not even from Konoha?” Chiyo asked. Kakashi explained why Naruto was going out of his way to save Gaara and Ino paid close attention. Some time later they finally arrived outside of the Akatsuki’s location and Team Gai was already there. “It’s about time you got here Kakashi.” Gai said. “Who’s the old lady?” Neji asked. “She’s an advisor from the Sand.” Kakashi said. “That’s besides the point. Is Gaara behind that rock?” Naruto asked. “Yes, but he’s protected by that barrier.” Gai said.

“It’s a Five Seal Barrier, you all need to find the other ones and we have to pull them simultaneously.” Naruto said. “Neji, do it.” Gai said. Neji activated his Byakugan and found the location of the tags. “Found them.” Neji said, and he gave them the location of each of them. “It’s in range of the radios.” Gai said as he handed radios to all of his team and Kakashi. “My team is faster, wait for our message!” Gai said. “Alright.” Kakashi said, and Team Gai left.

“They found the tags, we’re pulling them now!” Kakashi said as he pulled his tag. Naruto smashed the rock barrier with a Rasengan and they went in. Sasori and Deidara were there waiting, and the lifeless body of Gaara was next to them. “Gaara…” Naruto said sadly. “Red hair and whiskers, it seemed like Itachi’s description of the Jinchuuriki was on point.” Deidara said. “You bastards… look what you’ve done to Gaara!” Naruto exclaimed, his rage boiling over. “I’ll handle the Jinchuuriki.” Deidara said as the clay bird that was next to him picked Gaara up and gulped him. Deidara quickly got on his bird and flew away. “Kakashi Sensei, I’m going after him. Can you stay and deal with the other guy?” Naruto said. “You should take Ino and Sakura along with you, they’ll be good back up for you.” Kakashi said. “If I’m going to leave, take this.” Ino said and handed Kakashi something. “Me and Chiyo will deal with this guy, you guys go after the other one quickly.” Kakashi replied. “Right!” they said. Naruto, Ino and Sakura went chasing after Deidara.

Naruto bit his thumb and began making handsigns “Summoning Jutsu!” he yelled and a huge toad appeared. It wasn’t Gamabunta, it was Gamakichi. He had grown from the last time Naruto had seen him. He was now the size of his father, Gamabunta. “Yo Naruto!” he said. “Gamakichi, follow that clay bird, Ino and Sakura, hop on!” Naruto said. “Right!” they said. “Gamakichi leaped into the air in chase of the clay bird. “What’s your plan here Naruto?” Sakura asked. “Once we get close enough to him I plan on binding his movement, first thing is to take out his bird. Sakura, as soon as he’s in your range I want you to pressure him with your Hidden Shadow Snake Hands. He’ll be cautious to avoid you, that’s just what I want. I’ll surprise him and take him out, if I can’t do that I’ll clip his bird’s wing.” Naruto said. “Ino, can you set up your Mind Body Transmission Jutsu? We’ll need to be able to relay our plans to each other freely without the enemy knowing. Can you do that?” Naruto asked. “Yeah.” Ino replied. “Let’s get started.” Naruto said.

Naruto’s eyes were focused on the enemy, and soon as they were close enough Naruto enacted his plan. “Can I get a big leap Gamakichi?” Naruto said. Gamakichi leaped at the enemy and Naruto heard Ino’s voice in his head. “I activated my jutsu.” she said. “Alright, Sakura, it’s your turn.” Naruto said. Sakura’s snakes shot from the sleeves of her trench coat and almost hit the enemy, but his bird swiftly evaded. “Gamakichi, can I get some oil?” he asked. “Right!” he said as he shot a huge stream of oil at the enemy. Their bird was caught in it as well. Naruto made handsigns quickly “Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!” Naruto said as he exhaled a huge fire blast that combined with the oil. The clay bird caught on fire, but Naruto knew that it wouldn’t take him down. Deidara came flying out of the flames, his Akatsuki robes were charred and he had some mild burns on his skin. “Those flames were tough to escape.” Deidara said. “You won’t escape anymore.” Naruto replied as he whipped his marked kunai at him. Deidara dodged and Naruto blinked to him and slit his throat, but he turned into clay. “A clay clone?” Naruto wondered, he then felt a presence behind him and launched a kunai behind his back, which Deidara avoided. “Sakura, now!” Naruto said in his head and Gamakichi leaped and snakes shot from Sakura’s sleeves. They roped around the clay bird’s neck and decapitated it, freeing Gaara. “The time limit for the summoning is almost up, I’ll see you later Naruto!” Gamakichi said as he disappeared. Sakura and Ino landed in the forest but near the outskirts of it.

Deidara and Naruto began dropping to the ground rapidly and both of them jumped from the bird. They landed deep inside a forest and Deidara erased his presence quickly. “Damn, he’s good.” Naruto said. A second later, two small white birds flew next to him and before Naruto could react, they exploded. Naruto survived the explosion, but it sure hurt. “So all of those clay creatures explode? He must be a long range fighter, he doesn’t want me close to him.” Naruto thought. “Ino, start searching for his chakra!” Naruto ordered and Ino made a handsign and began searching. Something shot over Naruto’s head and when Naruto looked, a bunch of clay spiders were raining down on his head. Naruto jumped out of the way as they exploded.

“I found him, he’s on a clay bird that’s much smaller and more agile than the other one. Be careful, he’s coming from your left side this time!” she warned. Naruto heard a faint sound of flapping wings and knew what Ino said was true. Naruto quickly formed a Rasengan in his hand and when Deidara tried to whiz past him, he smashed the Rasengan into the clay bird. Deidara jumped off quickly and began dashing through the trees, trying to gain distance once more. “I won’t let you.” Naruto said as he followed him. “Sakura, Ino, try to flank him. He’ll be distracted by me and he probably won’t notice the both of you.” Naruto ordered. They nodded and began moving through the forest quickly. Naruto finally caught up with Deidara and he smirked. “You’re pretty persistent.” he said. Sakura quickly grabbed Deidara with her snakes, and Ino was next to her. “I’ve got you.” Sakura said. “Good job!” Naruto complimented. Deidara merely chuckled and he exploded and the explosion knocked all of them backwards. Naruto was knocked against a tree and crumpled to the ground. “Damn, he got us.” Naruto said. He went to find his teammates, prioritizing them over finding the enemy. He figured that he probably had escaped. Naruto found Ino, she was sitting under a tree healing her injuries. “You okay?” he asked. “I should be fine. The explosion banged me up though, I was just getting ready to go find you guys.” she said, getting to her feet.

Once they found Sakura the first thing they noticed was that she wasn’t in good shape. She had blood seeping from her head, and Naruto noticed blood on a rock too. She must’ve collided with it. Sakura was also unconscious. “She doesn’t look good…” Naruto said. “I’m on it now.” Ino said as her hands began glowing green. She began healing Sakura and closing up her wound, as she was healing her, Kakashi and Chiyo caught up with them. “What happened to Sakura and the enemy?” he asked. “The enemy blew himself up, but I think it was just a clone. Sakura was near the explosion and she was blown into a rock. She hit her head pretty bad it looks like.” Naruto explained. “Will she be okay Ino?” Kakashi asked. “She should be fine, she’s just unconscious. I’m healing most of her external injuries.” Ino said. “What about Gaara?” Kakashi asked. “We recovered him. But it doesn’t look good…” Ino said as she went to recover him. “What about your enemy?” Naruto asked. “We dealt with him.” Kakashi said. Team Gai arrived on the scene as well, and they filled them in on the situation.

They placed Gaara in a field and Ino began trying her best to heal him. She looked up with a sad look. “He’s gone, there’s nothing I can do…” she said. Everyone’s face dropped, and Naruto was saddened. They’d lost Gaara, he’d just become Kazekage, just began to accomplish his goals and he was gone like this. Naruto was almost shaking. “He’d just become the Kazekage. He had a hard life, he had to deal with a beast inside him, the rejection from everyone, and the loneliness.” Naruto exclaimed. “He didn’t deserve to die like this!” Naruto yelled. “Relax Naruto.” Chiyo said. “I can’t relax. Those people are coming after me as well! If people hadn’t placed these monsters inside of us we wouldn’t have to deal with this. It’s not enough that people place monsters inside of children, they also don’t respect the people who are housing these monsters, and preventing the monsters from attacking the village. If people hadn’t done this to him, nothing like this would’ve happened. He wouldn’t be a walking target for the Akatsuki. Nobody asks how the Jinchuuriki feels!” Naruto exclaimed, holding back tears.

Chiyo walked up to Gaara’s corpse and her hands began to glow green. “Chiyo? He’s already… no medical ninjutsu can change that.” Ino said. “This isn’t medical ninjutsu, this is a jutsu of my own creation. It will bring Gaara back.” Chiyo said as she smiled. “Naruto, you’re the only one who truly understands Gaara, take care of him for me.” she said as her hands began to glow again. Moments later, Gaara opened his eyes and sat up, in that same moment, Chiyo’s eyes closed and she hit the ground. Naruto then realized what had happened, he then walked up to Gaara. “Gaara, you put us through a lot. I’m glad you’re back.” Naruto said. “Wha- Naruto? What are you doing here?” he said. “You needed help so we came running. That’s what friends are for.” he said.

Days later, Naruto and his friends were getting ready to leave Suna. Sakura had recovered fully and the Sand Siblings saw them off. “Thank you for all the help.” Kankuro said. “I don’t know what we would’ve done without you guys.” Temari added. “Thank you, we’re in your debt Naruto.” Gaara said. “No need for all the thanks, you’d do the same for me Gaara. Goodbye, I’ll see you guys later!” Naruto said as he turned to his team. “Alright, let’s go!” he said. They began the long journey back to Konoha. Once they returned, Kakashi gave the mission report and they collected their payment for the mission.

Over the next couple of days Naruto had seen most of his friends and let them know that he was back. He also had an impending meeting with Tsunade so he walked over to her office. “Naruto, I’m glad to see you.” she said. “What’s up.” Naruto asked. “Someone has been transforming into Konoha ninja and attacking Iwa ninja. Iwa ninja have been retaliating and killing some of our genin. I suspect that it might be Kumo who’s disguising themselves as us and killing Iwa ninja. They might be trying to incite war between Konoha and Iwa, and it seems that they’re succeeding. Iwa has become very aggressive and their ninjas are rallying for war. If we don’t do something soon it’ll be full blown war. I’ve drafted up a peace treaty that I want delivered to their Tsuchikage. If he accepts it, we’ll have peace, but if he declines, we’ll have to prepare for war. Carry out this mission with the utmost importance, we want to avoid war at all costs. Your generation has yet to see the horrors of war and I hope that you don’t have to for a while. Your mission is to deliver the peace treaty to the Tsuchikage. You will lead a team comprised of Chunin and Jonin. This is an S-ranked mission.” Tsunade said.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to send me? Iwa hates me, they’ll never accept a peace treaty if I’m the one delivering it.” Naruto said. “You’re also the best one to go deep into enemy territory and escape, you have the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, you can teleport out if things get dicey.” Tsunade said. “That’s true, but it still might not be wise.” Naruto said. “The success of this mission is crucial if we wish to avoid a war. Gather a team with no more than four people, including yourself. You leave tomorrow.” Tsunade said. “Alright.” Naruto said, already thinking of the people he’d bring along with him.


	10. Raid on Iwagakure

Naruto knew who he’d try to find first, he headed to the Nara compound right after he’d left Tsunade’s office. He’d hoped that Shikamaru wasn’t too busy with his job as a diplomat to go on missions, it was worth giving it a try. He found Shikamaru playing Shogi and Go with his father, and from what he’d known about the game Shikamaru was losing. “Damn it, you always beat me.” Shikamaru said. “You have a friend here.” Shukaku said, looking at Naruto warmly. “Hello Shukaku, how are you? I came to see if Shikamaru could go on a mission with me?” Naruto asked. “A mission?” Shikamaru asked. “It’s a diplomatic mission to Iwa, some things have been going on between us and war could possibly be imminent. We want to negotiate peace before things go to the point of no return.” Naruto said. “And _you’ve _been placed in charge of this mission?” Shikamaru said skeptically. “Iwa hates you and your father, any diplomatic efforts from you are doomed to fail.” To be honest, Naruto had thought the same thing. But Naruto didn’t have to be the one who talked to the Tsuchikage, he could always send Shikamaru or another teammate in his place but there was always a risk that if negotiations broke down they would be attacked. He didn’t want to send one of his teammates there to be attacked, and he also realized if he went himself he’d definitely be attacked.

“I know, but perhaps I won’t have to be the one to talk to their Tsuchikage.” Naruto said. “Anyways, do you have enough time in your schedule? I know you have to whole Chunin Exams thing going on.” Naruto said understandingly. “I have time. I’ll join you on this mission. I can’t just let you drag us into a war now can I?” Shikamaru joked. “Hey!” Naruto said, falsely offended. “When do we leave?” Shikamaru asked. “Tomorrow, be ready.” Naruto said. “Alright.” Shikamaru replied as he continued with his match. Naruto jumped away from the Nara compound and head towards his next destination. This pick was in case things went awry. He needed someone who could fight, someone that Naruto could count on to back him up, he was confident in his own strength, but he still thought he could use someone that had plenty of strength on their own. Naruto arrived outside of Haku’s apartment, he was the only one of his friends that he hadn’t seen since he’d been back. Naruto knocked on the door and Haku opened it. The first thing Naruto had noticed is that Haku had grown, he was just as tall as Naruto. Haku’s petite and fragile features that made him mistakable for a girl were much less pronounced. Haku had become more muscular, he’d cut his hair and his jawline became more prominent. His eyes were hardened with experience but Naruto still found compassion in them as well.

“Naruto, I didn’t know you were back yet. It’s good to see you. What brings you here?” he asked. “Its good to see you here. Unfortunately I’m here on business. I want your help for a mission, you see…” Naruto explained the situation to him. “I’ll gladly help you, I’m a Jonin now, so at least you’ll have another Jonin on your team if it makes you feel any better.” Haku said. “We leave tomorrow, meet me and the rest of the team at the Konoha Gates.” Naruto said. “Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Haku replied. Naruto thought long and hard about his last person, he’d needed someone to tie the team together. He’d already gotten a strategist, a powerful Kekkei Genkai user, so what else did he want? Naruto. Naruto went to go find Shino. He fit most of Naruto’s criteria, he was pretty strong and smart as well. Naruto went to the place where Team Kurenai usually trained. Naruto found Kiba and Shino sparring and he called Shino’s name. Shino stopped sparring and jumped down to where Naruto was. “Hello Naruto.” he said. “Shino, it’s good to see you. I’d like your help for a mission.” Naruto said as he explained the mission to him. “Alright, I can help you.” Shino said. “So could I if you need the help.” Kiba said. “I already have enough members now, sorry Kiba, maybe next time.” Naruto replied. “Meet me tomorrow at the Konoha Gate so we can leave.” Naruto said as he left.

Naruto went home to restock his marked kunai and pack his bag, the next day he head to the Konoha Gate. Tsunade was already there waiting for him with the peace treaty in hand. “Good morning Naruto. Where’s your team?” she asked. “They should be here soon.” Naruto said as Shikamaru, Haku and Shino walked over to them. “There they are.” Naruto said. “Well I wanted to remind you all of the importance of this mission. If you fail then war is most likely imminent. Someone has been disguising themselves as Konoha ninja and they are killing Iwa ninja. This is why they are so driven to war, they’ve killed some of our Genin as well. If we don’t do anything, Iwa will be driven to war, and we can’t afford to fight another war, we have just now rebuilt Konoha fully.” Tsunade said. “We get how important this mission is, which is why I’m proposing that I meet the Tsuchikage instead of Naruto.” Shikamaru said. “Shikamaru? What if he refuses and attacks you?” Naruto asked. “Can’t you teleport me to any of your kunai, you can come with me, but under a Transformation jutsu, I have to be the one to talk to him, he won’t accept any words of peace from you.” Shikamaru said. “That could work…” Naruto said. “What do you think about that Tsunade?” Naruto asked. “It is wise, I chose you for this mission because you were the most likely to escape Iwa if things turned sour. Your Flying Thunder God Jutsu is invaluable to this mission. But you don’t have to be the one to meet him, Shikamaru is correct in thinking that.” Tsunade said. “Here’s the peace treaty, I let them know that I’d have someone coming to negotiate peace between us so they hopefully won’t attack you all. I believe in you guys. If this peace mission breaks down we’ll be in trouble.” she said as she handed Naruto the treaty. “We won’t fail.” Naruto said as they began walking off.

As they were jumping through the trees Haku spoke up. “Naruto, if you and Shikamaru are going inside of Iwa, what will you have me and Shino do?” he said. “I want you all to not be seen, if all goes right, me and Shikamaru will leave Iwa and they won’t attack us on the way back. But if things break down, we’ll need you to fight off anyone chasing us.” Naruto said. “Shino, I want you to have your insects scattered around their village so we can tell if anyone is chasing us.” Naruto said. “Alright, I won’t let them slip by.” Shino said. Naruto and the others traveled for about five days and arrived outside of Iwa. Their rocky and mountainous landscape served as natural protection from attacks. The village itself was the color of the rocks and a large building was in the center of it, the Tsuchikage’s office. Naruto walked up to a nearby tree and bit his finger, letting the blood run. “What are you doing?” Shikamaru asked. “I’m doing something just in case the worst case scenario happens.” Naruto began drawing a seal in his blood on the back of the tree. He drew a big circular seal and he placed four of his kunai into the tree. One on the top and bottom, and one of the left and right. Naruto then placed his swirl marker in the middle and the seals glowed blue. “What did you just do?” Haku asked. “It’s a way for me to return to this place if things go wrong.” Naruto said as he took his kunai out of the tree. “Alright, let’s get this started. Shikamaru, I’m gonna transform into a hitai-ate. Put it on your to cover the one that you have woven into your shirt. Haku and Shino, I’m going to leave some of my kunai back here so we can teleport to them.” Naruto said as he threw a kunai into a nearby tree. “Also, let me mark you Haku, if something happens to my kunai, or if you guys move I’ll be able to teleport back to you.” Naruto said as he placed his hand on Haku’s back and marked him. “Alright, you guys all know the importance of this mission, let’s try our hardest to complete it.” Naruto said as he transformed into a hitai-ate.

Shikamaru grabbed it and tied it around his arm. “Tsunade said that they know we’re coming so we don’t have to be sneaky, I can just walk up to their border and explain myself.” Shikamaru said as he began walking. Once Shikamaru and Naruto had gotten to the border they were stopped by an Iwa Chunin. “State your business here. We don’t just allow Shinobi from villages that we aren’t allied with come to our village.” he said with a scowl. “I came here to have an audience with the Tsuchikage. The Hokage, Tsunade has let you all know in advance.” Shikamaru said. “So you’re a diplomat for Konoha, I did hear of the Hokage sending someone over. I’ll let you in, but behave yourself. The Tsuchikage’s office is the big building in the center of the village.” he said. As they walked through the village, Naruto noticed that the majority of the buildings looked as they’d been carved from rock itself. Naruto knew how Hashirama Senju the first Hokage had formed Konoha with his Wood Release. Perhaps Earth Release had a part in why Iwagakure looked as it was carved of earth. When they walked they received scowls and sideways looks from the villagers. They really didn’t like Konoha ninja it seemed. They made it to the Tsuchikage’s office building and it was nothing like Konoha’s Hokage office.

Before they could go far though they were stopped by someone that Naruto had known, a foe of his, Kaori. “What is this Konoha scum doing here. You’ve got guts to come here after what you’ve did.” he said, preparing to attack. “I’m here to discuss peace with the Tsuchikage, Konoha has requested an audience with him.” Shikamaru said. “Peace?!” Kaori said incredulously. “You’re the one’s who attacked us, not the other way around. Why would we negotiate peace with you Konoha scum?!” Kaori exclaimed. Naruto was on edge, if Kaori were to attack Shikamaru right here Naruto would have to defend them and the mission would be over before they could even talk to the Tsuchikage. “That’s enough Kaori.” someone said. Shikamaru looked and saw the Tsuchikage. He was a short man who had gray hair in a ponytail.He had a bulbous red nose as well. He had an angular beard and mustache and he was short, but Shikamaru knew better not to underestimate him. “But-” Kaori began. “Enough, I’ll hear him out for now. I’ll decide what we’ll do, so don’t go attacking him just _yet_” he said.

Naruto realized what he meant by yet and he didn’t like it at all. “Follow me.” he said as he walked up some stairs. Shikamaru followed and they arrived at his office. He had a desk and the window was behind him. The Tsuchikage sat and his seat and Shikamaru remained standing. “I am Onoki, the Tsuchikage. Tell me your name brat.” Onoki said. “I’m Shikamaru Nara, a Chunin from Konoha.” Shikamaru said. “Here’s the peace treaty that our Hokage has drafted.” Shikamaru said as he handed it to Onoki. Onoki flipped through it, reading through it quickly. He then placed it on his desk a couple of minutes later. “So Konoha wants to negotiate peace. Why should we agree? Konoha was the ones that attacked us, you were the aggressors, not us. We’ve only attacked in retaliation.” Onoki said. Naruto knew that it was bull, so did Shikamaru. But they couldn’t just put blame on someone else, Iwa firmly believes that Konoha had been the ones who attacked them. They wouldn’t believe that someone had framed Konoha, the story was unlikely. “You might not believe us, but it wasn’t us that attacked your ninja. We were framed, we don’t know by who, but they transformed into us and killed your ninja.” Shikamaru said.   


Onoki chuckled. “A likely story, but you have no evidence so I don’t believe you.” he said. “Don’t forget, an Iwa ninja tried to assassinate one of our ninja.” Shikamaru said. “Our ninja was merely participating in the exams and during that part lethal force was authorized.” Onoki replied. “Just think. Who would want us to fight a bloody war and weaken each other. Who would that benefit? What village has been the most hungry for conquest? Konoha rarely attacks first, we don’t provoke war, we retaliate, but we rarely strike the first blow.” Shikamaru said._ Naruto had known better, Konoha had provoked war before. Naruto only knew this from reading the book on Konoha history and the lessons that Sandaime had given him about Konoha history. Konoha had started the Second Shinobi World War by breaking the armistice treaty from the First Shinobi World War. Onoki would probably know that as well, he was alive back then and he’d probably fought in that war._ “You’re showing your age brat. Konoha were the ones who started the Second Shinobi World War. Konoha broke the peace treaty that had been established from the First Shinobi World War, so why should we believe that you would keep this peace treaty. How do we know that you won’t break the treaty as you have before and attack again?” Onoki questioned.

The old man was good, he had a response to all of Shikamaru’s points and he’d made Konoha out to be the aggressors. Their Shinobi and the villagers probably were aligned with his line of thinking as well. “You don’t have to decide right now, just think about our offer, fighting a war is pointless and it would hurt the both of us.” Shikamaru said. “No, I’ve already decided. I’m not going to enter into any peace treaty with Konoha, and you aren’t going to leave this village alive.” Onoki said as Kaori burst through the door. “Naruto now!” Shikamaru said. “Got it!” Naruto replied as he dropped his transformation and teleported them both to the outside of their village near Shino and Haku. “What happened?” Shino asked. “Their kage didn’t accept our peace treaty and he tried to attack us!” Shikamaru said. “They might be coming after us, let’s go!” Naruto said as he began jumping through the trees. Naruto and his team gained some distance, but there were about a couple dozen Iwa ninja on their heels.

“They’re approaching. Be ready.” Shino said as he drew his bugs towards him. Two ninja burst at Haku and he quickly created an Ice Mirror and appeared behind them. He flung senbon needles to the backs of their head, killing them instantly. “We can’t keep running, we have to turn and fight, at least to dispose of these ninja.” Haku said. “Yeah, we’ve gained some distance from their village, It’ll take the other ninja a while to reach us, let’s finish these ones off quickly.” Naruto said as he clutched his marked kunai. Three ninja jumped at Naruto, they were determined to kill him as he was the son of the Yondaime Hokage. “Die!” they yelled. Naruto made handsigns quickly “Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!” Naruto yelled, exhaling two blades of wind that cut through the Iwa ninja. Behind him, Shikamaru yelled “Shadow Possession Jutsu!” as he caught a group of four Iwa ninja in his jutsu. Shino’s bugs devoured their chakra and Shikamaru dropped his jutsu. Five of them jumped at Haku and Naruto went to help him, but he clashed with one of their ninja as well. Haku made handsigns and spears of ice shot out of the ground and impaled all five of them.

Naruto blocked a slash with the prongs of his kunai. He then twisted it, jerking the enemies kunai away and disarming him. Naruto then slammed a Rasengan into his belly sending him flying away. Behind him, five ninja jumped at him and Naruto made a handsign “Needle Jizo!” He said as his hair grew to cover his entire body and hardened to protect him. Inside his hair, Naruto made handsigns, he then released it and yelled “Fire Release: Flame Bullet!” as he spit oil infused flames at them. They all yelled as the flames hit them and they burned to death. Two enemies attacked Shino and cut through him with their swords, but he then turned into a swarm of bugs. “Insect Clone!” Shino said as he surrounded their bodies with his insects and devoured their chakra. The remaining five Iwa ninja ganged up on Shikamaru and were surrounding him. Naruto flung a volley of kunai around them and teleported to each of the enemies and killed them quickly by slitting their throats. “Thanks Naruto, you’ve saved me again.” he said.

They quickly regrouped and began heading back to the village. “This isn’t good. They are set on fighting a war with us. Their Tsuchikage countered all of my points effectively too, he’d damn good. He probably has been preparing his people for war for a while.” Shikamaru said. “Yeah, it’s pretty bad, they hate Konoha, their villagers were staring at us as we were walking through the village and their ninja were about to attack us before we could even talk to the Tsuchikage. We’ll need to end this war quickly, it can get bad.” Naruto said. “What are you planning Naruto?” Shikamaru asked. “Once we get back to the village, I’m going to ask Tsunade can we deliver a preemptive strike to their village, to end the war before it even starts.” Naruto said.

Days later they reached Konoha and Naruto went to go deliver the mission report to Tsunade. He walked in her office and she was sitting at her desk doing paperwork. “Naruto, you’re back. So what happened?” she asked. “We failed. He didn’t sign the peace treaty, he was saying that in the Second Shinobi World War Konoha was the one who broke armistice and that we were the ones who attacked them first. They then tried to attack us and I teleported us out of the village. Their men chased us and we killed them, we had no choice as they had about two dozen men after us.” Naruto said. “This isn’t good, war is imminent. We have to call a war counsel.” Tsunade said. “No, I have a plan. We can end the war before it even starts.” Naruto said. “How?” Tsunade asked. “A preemptive strike. Is Jiraiya in the village?” Naruto asked. “Yes he’s still in the village… so you’re planning on the both of you attacking Iwagakure? You both are strong, but taking on a whole country is madness.” Tsunade said. “Me and Jiraiya can take them on, but we aren’t fighting to kill them all anyways. We can do just enough to make them surrender.” Naruto said.

“So you’re going to make him sign it with force? It’s not a bad idea, but by the time you get there, their forces will be alert, it’ll take five more days to get back there.” Tsunade said. “No it won’t. When we were on the outskirts of Iwagakure I created a portal. It’ll take me there in an instant, I just have to make a gate from Konoha to link it to.” Naruto said. “I’ve never heard of that? Is it a part of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu?” Tsunade asked. “Yeah, it’s a variation that I created myself. I can link two points and travel through them no matter the distance, but it takes a large amount of chakra. With it, me and Jiraiya can be there today and strike before they are prepared. We can make them sign the treaty.” Naruto said. Tsunade thought about it for a while and then replied. “Go get Jiraiya and bring him here so you can tell him your plan, let’s see what he thinks. Bring Kakashi as well, he’s recovered now and he’s not out on a mission.” “Alright, I’ll be back soon.” Naruto said as he blinked to his home.

He then went to the Hot Springs and found Jiraiya doing his usual hobby, crouching and looking at naked women. “Hey pervert, Tsunade and I want to talk to you about something, come to the Hokage Tower with me.” Naruto said. Jiraiya then stood up. “Alright kid, let’s go.” he said. “No, I’ll meet you there, I have to grab Kakashi Sensei as well.” Naruto said. He then went to Kakashi’s house. Kakashi was reading his book and giggling. “Kakashi Sensei, come to the Hokage’s office with me. I want to talk to you about something important. Jiraiya’s there as well.” Naruto said. Kakashi closed his book. “What is it?” he asked. “I’ll tell you when we get there, let’s go” Naruto said.

They went back to the Hokage tower and Naruto informed Jiraiya and Kakashi of the situation and what he’d planned to do. Jiraiya began stroking his chin in thought. “It’s a damn good plan, but Onoki is a stubborn old man, I don’t know if he’ll just lie down and surrender.” Jiraiya said. “I thought the same.” Tsunade said. “It’s worth a try. If we succeed we can end this without a Konoha ninja spilling a drop of blood.” Naruto said. “I think it’s worth a try as well, but it’s pretty dangerous.” Kakashi said. “That’s why I’ll have the both of you.” Naruto said. “So once you get there what do you plan on doing Naruto?” Tsunade said. “We can operate on two fronts, Jiraiya can draw their attention, summon up something fierce. I can sneak into the Tsuchikage’s office as Jiraiya is keeping them distracted. Kakashi can help Jiraiya thin their forces too. I’ll take advantage of all the chaos and slip under the radar. I’ll find the Tsuchikage and force him to sign the treaty.” Naruto said. “And if he doesn’t?” Tsunade asked. “I’ll kill him” Naruto said seriously. Tsunade, Jiraiya and Kakashi were surprised. “Naruto… you know how serious this is?” Kakashi asked calmly. “I wouldn’t propose something like this if I weren’t serious, I don’t want Konoha to sustain any more damage. I failed this mission, so allow me to redeem myself.” Naruto said.

“It would be better if I were the one to confront the Tsuchikage. They hate you Naruto, they’ll never agree to anything you say, that’s why you’ll serve better as a distraction, their ninja will be itching to kill you. Besides, you and Jiraiya have jutsu with a bigger range and that are much more destructive than mine. I was apart of the Anbu, I’m no stranger to stealth mission and assassinations.” Kakashi said. “It makes sense, but are you sure you’d be able to do it?” Naruto asked. “It’s strange to me that my own student is asking if I can do it. I didn’t show you my new jutsu yet Naruto, it’s a space-time ninjutsu like the Flying Thunder God, but I can send things to another dimension. That’s how I beat Sasori, I sent his heart to another dimension, I’ll be fine Naruto, I’m more worried about you.” Kakashi said. “Me? Why?” Naruto asked. “You weren’t there during the Third Shinobi World War, you don’t know exactly how bitterly that hate your father. They’ll do anything to kill you.” Kakashi said. “I won’t let them.” Naruto said. “Naruto, I’ll allow you to go through with this mission. I want all of you to be careful, you’re some of Konoha’s best, so I can’t afford to lose any of you. Leave once it gets dark so Kakashi will be able to get to the Tsuchikage’s through the veil of night.” Tsunade said.

Naruto, Jiraiya and Kakashi decided to meet up at the Konoha Gate at nightfall. Kakashi wasn’t late to their meet-up, he must’ve been taking this serious. “I have to create a gate near Konoha, hold on, it’ll take me a minute.” Naruto said as he bit his thumb, letting the blood flow. Naruto drew a circular seal near on Konoha’s gate and flung four of his marked kunai at it. He then placed his marker in the center of it and it glowed blue and a purplish-black portal opened up. “ Let’s go through, one at a time though, it can’t handle a lot of people at once.” Naruto said. Jiraiya walked through first and disappeared, then Kakashi. Naruto then stepped through the portal and appeared outside of Iwagakure. “That’s an impressive jutsu, we just traversed a huge distance in an instant, It’s hard to believe.” Kakashi said. “Thanks.” Naruto said.

Jiraiya bit his thumb and began making handsigns and two small frogs appeared, Ma and Pa. “Fuse with me, I’ll need to go into Sage Mode for this.” Jiraiya said. They quickly jumped onto his shoulders and began gathering Senjutsu Chakra. “You should go into Sage Mode as well Naruto.” Jiraiya said, but Naruto was already on it. He sat down and gathered Senjutsu chakra and his eyes gained a yellow pigmentation. “Naruto you too?” Kakashi said. “Yeah, I learned how to do it while we were training. I’m a perfect Sage, unlike Jiraiya here who still needs Ma and Pa.” Naruto joked. Jiraiya chuckled as he went into Sage Mode as well, but he gained frog-like features like a bigger nose and warts, he also gained a goatee. “You brat.” he said. Naruto then created Shadow Clones and had them gather Senjutsu chakra as well. “Where’s the enemy?” Shima asked. “We’re not in battle yet, but we’re about to be.” Jiraiya said. “Once we start our attack slip under the radar Kakashi.” Jiraiya said. “I know.” Kakashi said. “The Tsuchikage lives in the big building in the center of the village.” Naruto said as he jumped high over Iwa, Jiraiya did the same. Both of them made bit their thumb and made handsigns quickly. “Summoning Jutsu!” they yelled at the same time. Naruto summoned Gamakichi and Jiraiya summoned Gamabunta, both of the toads dropped onto the village, flattening houses.

People began running out of their homes and children were screaming. Shinobi had began jumping up at them and Jiraiya began making handsigns. “Sage Art: Goemon!” Jiriaya yelled, creating a huge volume of oil. Fukusuku used a large Wind Release jutsu to propel the oil and Shima exhaled a stream of fire to ignite the oil. It devastated a bunch of the Shinobi that were jumping at them. “Earth Release: Sandwich Jutsu!” someone yelled and two huge chunks of earth started to close on them. Gamabunta used his sword to level it. “Jump Jiraiya!” Naruto called out and Gambunta jumped as well as Gamakichi. Naruto formed a Rasengan in his hand and added Wind Release to it. “Gamakichi, give me some water!” Naruto yelled as Gamakichi shot a huge blast of water out of his mouth. “Starch Syrup Gun!” he yelled. Naruto threw his Rasenshuriken at the ninja below them. “Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!” Naruto yelled as a huge explosion destroyed all of the Shinobi that were right there.

“Earth Release: Earth Golem!” Akatsuchi yelled as an Earth Golem tried to punch Naruto. Naruto made a flurry of handsigns. “Water Release: Water Severing Wave!” Naruto said as he released a highly pressurized blast of water that cut straight through the Earth Golem. Akatsuchi himself jumped atop of Gamakichi as well as five other Iwa ninja. “You were a fool to come here, son of Yondaime!” one of them said as he jabbed at Naruto with his kunai. Naruto pivoted and grabbed his arm and threw him at one of the other Iwa ninja. He then made a handsign and said “Water Release: Water Bullet!” and sent a flurry of water bullets at them. They were pierced by the bullets and fell off of Gamakichi quickly. Another one of them tried to engage in close combat with Naruto and he smirked. Naruto dodged a punch and threw one of his own that the Iwa ninja though he dodged, he then went flying as Naruto had hit him with the Frog Kata. “He didn’t even hit him! Why did he go flying?” a Iwa ninja asked. “Don’t worry about him, you’re next.” Naruto said as he pounced at him and kicked him away. Akatsuchi made a handsign. “Earth Release: Fist Rock Jutsu!” he said. “I won’t forgive you bastards for attacking our village!” he said. “I gave you all an option for peace but you denied it. I didn’t want it to come to this but it has.” Naruto said.

Akatsuchi dashed at Naruto and swung, but Naruto dodged quickly and slammed a Rasengan in his chest, Naruto’s reflexes were enhanced in Sage Mode so he could react much quicker. Naruto then looked over to Jiraiya and saw that he was handling multiple enemies at a time as well. “Lava Release: Quicklime Congealing Jutsu!” two voices shouted out and a bunch of quicklime was coming at Naruto and Jiraiya. “Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!” Naruto yelled, erupting a huge wall of earth that protected them from the Lava. Jiraiya then jumped off of Gamabunta and slammed a double Rasengan into the chests of the ninja who’d used the Lava Release Jutsu. “Those ones will be dangerous is we leave them alone, they could’ve trapped us.” Jiraiya said. “Lava Release: Lava Golem!” Kaori yelled and a huge Lava Golem formed. “Naruto Uzumaki, how foolish of you to come to Iwa. I’ll make sure this place is your burial ground!” he yelled. The huge Lava Golem began running at Naruto and Jiraiya. “Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!” Naruto yelled, creating a huge swamp under the Lava Golem. The Golem began to sink and before it was fully immersed Kaori jumped off of it, launching himself at Naruto, Naruto jumped at Kaori as well. Naruto lost the pigmentation around his eyes as his Sage Mode had expired. He and Kaori clashed in midair and he broke the clash and began making handsigns. “Lava Release: Lava Dragon!” he yelled. “Gamakichi!” Naruto yelled. “Starch Syrup Gun!” he yelled. The blast of water clashed with the Lava Dragon and steam erupted. Naruto then made two Shadow Clones and all of them made handsigns.

“Combination Release: Tempest!” Naruto yelled as he unleashed a vortex of wind, lightning and water at Kaori. Kaori began making handsigns as well “Lava Release: Lava Wall!” Kaori roared as a huge wall of Lava erupted, blocking Naruto’s jutsu. Naruto then released his Shadow Clone that had been gathering senjutsu chakra, regaining Sage Mode. Kaori made handsigns “Lava Release: Eruption!” he then slammed his hands into the ground and small volcano erupted from the ground. “Lava Release: Lava Plume!” Kaori said as the volcano erupted, sending a huge molten lava rock at him. Naruto created a Rasenshuriken and threw it at the molten lava rock, it sliced it clean in half and exploded, taking the volcano with it, but Kaori was no longer there. Naruto then sensed a presence behind him and dodged a blow from Kaori who was covered in Lava. Naruto had dodged, but it had still burned him, the heat that was coming off of him was insane. “You can cover yourself in it now? That’s a pesky Kekkei Genkai.” Naruto said.

Kaori lunged at Naruto and swung wildly at Naruto’s head, trying to get a good shot in. Naruto ducked under one of his blows and kicked him, but he burned the sole of his shoe. Kaori laughed cruelly. “Close Combat is a no-no, even if you can dodge my attacks you can’t counter attack.” he said as he began attacking again. Kaori launched a kick, but Naruto ducked, letting it fly above his head. Naruto then uppercut Kaori with Frog Kata, sending him flying upwards. Naruto then began gathering both wind and water chakra in his hand. “Combination Release: Hurricane!” Naruto yelled and Kaori’s eyes widened in fear, right before Naruto could connect with his jutsu, someone jumped in front of them. Naruto blew a hole through their chest instead of Kaori’s. Naruto then realized who it was, it was Roku, one of Kaori’s comrades who came to Konoha with him. Kaori quickly caught him and glared back at Naruto. “I’m going to kill you you bastard!” he said as he left to take care of his friend. Naruto took note of the battlefield. They’d done tremendous damage to Iwagakure, there was a huge swamp, multiple craters, the village itself had been smoking as well.

Kakashi appeared next to Naruto. He no longer had on his flak jacket, he was just down to his long sleeved shirt. Naruto then noticed he was bleeding, his side was cut and he was breathing heavily. “Kakashi Sensei are you okay?” Naruto asked. “Yeah, it was a rough fight. The Tsuchikage wouldn’t just agree like Jiraiya thought, I dealt with him though, he’s dead. I wouldn’t have beaten him if I didn’t have the element of surprise, even then…” Kakashi trailed off. “Jiraiya! Let’s go!” Naruto yelled. Gamabunta leaped outside of the village and Naruto dismissed Gamakichi and teleported to his portal. The Iwa ninja tried to chase after Jiraiya but Jiraiya shot a huge fireball at them. He then landed on the outskirts of their village near Naruto’s portal. “Did you do it Kakashi?” Jiraiya asked. “Yes, let’s go before they catch us!” Kakashi said as he walked through the portal. Jiraiya did the same and Naruto followed by. They appeared outside of Konoha. Little did they know, as they had fought Iwa, Han, the jinchuuriki of the Four Tails had been taken by the Akatsuki.

Kakashi collapsed soon as he walked out of the portal. “He should be okay, his wounds aren’t too severe. Let’s get him to a hospital.” Jiraiya said. Naruto carried Kakashi to the hospital and the next day they reported back to Tsunade, Kakashi was with them as Tsunade had healed him over the night. “So what happened?” she asked. “The Tsuchikage wouldn’t sign the peace treaty, even with how bad we wrecked the village. Kakashi killed him. We did a good amount of damage to Iwa as well, I reckon it’ll be a while for them to consider attacking us.” Naruto said. “They’ll have to appoint a new Tsuchikage, and rebuild their forces, it should take a while.” Jiraiya said. “I’m worried about who they’ll appoint Tsuchikage though. Kaori, the Lava Release user that I fought is definitely a candidate. He hates me more than anyone, even more now that I’ve killed his comrade. He’s the grandson of Onoki and a descendant of the First Tsuchikage.” Naruto said. “Even if he does become the next Tsuchikage, he’d be a fool to attack us, they have to rebuild.” Tsunade said. “Good job, you’ve helped us avoid this war, at least for a while.” Tsunade said. “You’re dismissed Naruto, I still want to have a chat with Jiraiya and Kakashi.” Tsunade said. Naruto left the Hokage tower and went back home.

_Back at the Hokage’s office._

“_So how did Naruto do?” Tsunade asked. “The kid was amazing. He’d beat more of them than I did and he had to fight against Kaori, the kid who used Lava Release.” Jiraiya said. “Naruto’s plan worked well and the fact that he had already prepared to go back to Iwa shows me that he was thinking about the first attempt at peace failing.” Kakashi said. “He isn’t as soft as Sandaime even though he was trained by him, he was fully prepared to kill Onoki.” Tsunade said. “What were you teaching him Jiraiya? He’s on another level.” Kakashi asked. “I taught him most of my jutsu, how to refine his own techniques, and he went to Mount Myoboku and learned Sage Mode on his own once he found out about it. Naruto would’ve been great without me, I’ve only sped the process up. All the kid was lacking is experience.” Jiraiya said. “I thought you were being a tad bit naive when you told me that you were going to make him strong enough to take on the Akatsuki but it seems that you weren’t joking.” Kakashi said. “When the news of this breaks out though there’s going to be an even bigger target on Naruto’s back. His bounty in the underworld will grow and so will his fame.” Tsunade said. “You worried? He can handle it. It may seem like the kid has a big head, but he has a good head on his shoulders, he’s also been famous since it was revealed who his father is.” Jiraiya said. “It’s not good that his head will probably be worth a good amount of money, that attracts some unwanted attention…” Tsunade said. _


End file.
